June 14th

I am old enough and, by virtue of my previous life working with computers, informed enough, to know the most intimate and thorough history of the popular tool we now know as the internet. I am fully aware of the technological breakthroughs that were made, starting from the first tentative attempts to reach out and touch someone electronically, to the latest ways in which we can do just about anything we want, in just about an instant, over just about any distance you can imagine.
In the early days it was a big thing just to connect to a remote location and get recognized. As far as actually doing anything useful, well, that was another matter altogether. The rate that information could travel down a telephone wire was so slow you could often go for a coffee and a short nap in between receiving the individual letters in a word. That’s how slow things were in the beginning. That was given you could make a good connection and be acknowledged in the first place. And, of course, you had to be able to maintain your link with your neighbour in wherever land. So, suffice it to say that way back in the first days of anything resembling the internet, things happened very slowly and with great uncertainty.
I suppose it was a lot like our first attempts at dating. We were unsure of what we were doing, hesitant about what to say, slow in getting our words out, and very often not at all sure that we had established a true connection with the love of our life (or at least the love of that moment.) Good, healthy and steady communication with our dates only came after many awkward moments, a few personal upgrades and a lot of trial and error.
That’s true of relationships in general. Over time we’ve all had to learn to connect with others, whether for purposes of dating, in order to work together, as friends, or for any number of reasons people get together. That’s true for our relationship with God, too, but a lot of times folks don’t take the time or make the effort to get past the first, hesitant steps. After all, knowing God truly and deeply isn’t something that just happens. It’s not just a matter of hooking up one day, at least not for most of us. Knowing God involves learning how to pray, how to read His word, how to understand His ways of communicating, and learning to love and trust Him despite the temptations and pain that sometimes push us away from God.
That’s not to say we ever know God fully or are in perfect relationship. Nor am I suggesting that there is a grade or a point system that says whether or or not our relationship with God is good enough. God knows exactly how to reach us; He’s got all the tools He needs. It’s up to us to reach out to Him and make a connection with Him. Some folks might never feel totally comfortable with Him, and that’s OK; God is patient, and takes whatever we offer. Some folks might feel so comfortable with God that they know Him as well as they know their best friend. The rest of us fall somewhere in between, and that, I believe, is good enough. As long as we’re connected, God will meet us where we are, and talk to us in ways that will bless us and move us forward. At least that’s the way I see it.