Changes

My sons have purchased ereaders and just to tell you how much I know about them, I had to ask my daughter what they were called without me using their brand names in my blog. Now I know they are called ereaders and that one came with over 101 of the classics in books pre-programmed on it. My sons can carry an entire library in their hands and have classics such as Jane Eyre and The Last of the Mohicans, at their fingertips.What at one time would fill an entire book case can now fit into a 5"x7", very thin, little invention. It is truly amazing how far our technology has come. If you had told me, when I was my sons' ages, that one day a library would be carried around in back packs or in a person's hands, I wouldn't have believed you.

I can remember when records went out of style and the new thing was an 8-track tape to listen to music. I remember when 8-tracks became obsolete and the smaller, more compact cassette tapes were the latest rage. Then cassettes were replaced by CD's and we changed again. Once living room stereos were huge pieces of furniture and now we can hold our 'stereos' in our hands.

I can remember taking sandwiches on picnics or to school wrapped up in waxed paper, then along came plastic wrap. Pop bottles use to be glass. Milk bottles too, then milk came in cardboard cartons, sometimes bags and plastic jugs. Things change. Sometimes change is good. Sometimes change improves our lives. One thing that change does do is challenge us to rethink the way we have always seen things. Sometimes we choose to remain the same, and that's okay, but sometimes we embrace the change and welcome it in our lives.

My oldest son gave me an iPod awhile ago. He thought that I should come up with the times and listen to my music in a newer way. He knows that because of an ear problem I don't enjoy wearing headphones so he showed me how to use it in my van's stereo system. The problem is..... I forget how to turn it on! So I listen to my music by CD's and I'm fine with that.

I don't know if I will ever get an ereader. I still like the feel and the smell of a book. I like turning the pages and folding down the corner to mark my place. I like the comforting look of a book sitting on my table waiting for me to spend some time lost in its pages. So I don't know if I am ready for this new technology.

I find that the older I get the simplier I like my life. I have learned that I enjoy simple food more and more. I find that I am content with having less, because I really don't need more. Over the past year I have been paring down my possessions, getting rid of what I don't use and don't need. I have done this with everything from clothing to cooking utensils. And I feel better for it. You see, I don't really need that much to be content.

I have lived in a tiny two bedroom apartment and I have lived in a five bedroom, three bathroom house and I have been without a home all together. I have had silver platters and crystal candelabras and I have had plastic plates and mismatched glasses and I've been fine with both. I have come to a point in my life where I realize that it is not THINGS that can make you happy or make your life better. Technology will change and be the latest thing and in a few short months it will be replaced by something better again.

The Apostle Paul said in Philippians 4:12-13 "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." That's the secret to happiness, to true contentment: "I can do everything through him who gives me strength". When we rely on the Lord for our strength, not on things around us or that we own, but on Him, we will find true contentment.

It can be very easy in our fast paced, technological world to be caught up in the latest and greatest gadget as being the best thing to happen to our life. But that technology will soon change and you will constantly need to replace it. When Christ is the center of your life, you will find that He will always be there for you. He will never leave you. He will never become outdated or obsolete. His Word is called the Living Word because it comes alive and He speaks to our hearts through it.

Being able to carry an entire library around in your hands is a pretty neat invention. Maybe it will encourage more people to read. I hope so. The world is changing so quickly all around us and it is comforting to know that God will always be the constant in our life. We can always go to Him and He will be there to guide us and to love us. Malachi 3:6 "I the Lord do not change."