Ever-Ready and Ever-Patient

Posted Jul 8, 03:24 PM by Kay Camenisch

I’m a member of the Computer-Challenged Club. My mind is definitely not digitally programmed. Whenever I have a problem or have to make a decision that is computer-related, I instinctively choose the wrong course of action.

Consequently, after years of making wrong choices, whenever something doesn’t make sense, long before the brain kicks in to figure out a solution, apprehension mounts, my chest and shoulders tighten, the fog rolls in, and my mind completely locks up. I’m normally not too terribly dumb, but with anything computer related, I am totally dependent on others for the simplest of decisions and operations.

Robert is my immediate and regular rescuer. He frequently bails me out for things I’ve already been told repeatedly. He is amazingly patient, and I’m very grateful for his help. However, he’s a bit challenged with computers too, so we often have to call on outside help. Consequently, I’m grateful God blessed our home with children before computers. (I don’t know how people without children manage.)

Our daughter, Julia, helps with questions of how to function in various programs. If she doesn’t already know the answer, she gets on her computer (several states away), plays around a bit, and tells me what to do—even as we are talking. Amazing!

Our son Jonathan set up our website and keeps it running. He is also our knight in shining armor when it comes to basic computer questions, regularly giving advice, answering questions, and helping us out of jams. He has truly been ever-ready and ever-patient. Lately—probably because I’ve been distracted and haven’t been on the computer as much—I’ve sailed along pretty well and haven’t needed a rescue.

During the lull, however, I’ve gotten several unsolicited, computer-related emails saying things like, “You’ve requested . . . .” They’re wrong. I didn’t request it. I don’t request things related to computers. I avoid anything that might require me to fill out something on the screen because I might need to know something that I should know, but that I’m clueless about. However, each message seemed to be related to MY computer, as if I had initiated something.

I don’t even know who some of the emails were from. I’d like to say they were from companies I’d never heard of, but I’m afraid I’d be proven wrong. (It seems that I don’t have a place in my brain to remember anything related to computers.) Nevertheless, I didn’t request anything. I couldn’t even figure out what they were talking about. I’d scratch my head, try to decipher the message, then, give up and forward the email to Jonathan with the question, “Do you know anything about this?”

I always got a quick reply, “Oh sorry. I forgot to tell you, I . . . .” One time, he responded, “I logged into your account and . . . .”

As I cleaned up my emails today I ran into a couple of such messages and the thought hit me, “That’s the way it is with the Lord.” At times we bombard God with a host of minute needs. It doesn’t matter how often we go to Him—even if it’s about things He’s told us before. He’s always available, patiently going over the same lesson for the umpteenth time.

When life is going smoothly and we aren’t running to Him in a panic, God’s still looking out for our good. Just like Jonathan taking care of my computer, much of the Lord’s work on our behalf we’ll never see, never know about, and certainly never understand. However, we sometimes get an unexpected glimpse that reminds us that God’s at work, even if we’re not aware of it.

It’s reassuring to be reminded that God is ever-ready, ever-patient, and always on the job, because it seems that in life I am also ever-needy.