My Dinosaur Died
Yes, you read the title correctly. My Dinosaur Died! Well, if the truth were known, it may have had a little help dying. In fact, I am probably guilt of Involuntary Dinosaur Slaughter. I didn’t kill it on purpose, but I must admit that I did assist with its untimely demise. It was a sad day in my world!
What am I talking about? My Palm Pilot! Anybody who has known me for any length of time knows that my Palm Pilot (a.k.a. “My Brain”) and I are synonymous. For ten years (a time unheard of in the electronic world) I toted that thing with me everywhere I went. When people asked me about preaching for them or attending events, I whipped my handy-dandy electronic brain out and, right there on the spot, checked the dates they were inquiring about and gave them an answer. If they booked me to be somewhere, I simply entered the data into my Palm Pilot, with the handy-dandy stylus that came with it, and when I returned to the office, I plugged it into Dottie’s computer, hit the synchronize button, and presto, our calendars were in perfect sync. Anything she had added showed up on my Palm Pilot and anything I had added showed up on her computer. Is that cool, or what? What an engineering marvel and piece of electronic genius this little gadget was! Is it any wonder that through the years I chose to endure the ridicule, shame and laughter from others just to keep this piece of antique electronic wizardry? Ten years I have had this little jewel. Now, it sits on my desk awaiting me to gather the heart to throw it away. How can I simply discard it after ten years of loyal service? I may have to frame it and place it on the wall in a prominent spot for all to see!
Speaking of referring to it as “my brain,” there is a story my wife, Marianne, loves to tell about this. Before I preach anywhere she forces me to empty my pockets. It seems that I have an annoying habit of rattling keys and pocket change while I preach. So, in order to prevent this, she makes me empty my pockets. Sometimes I give her the contents of my pockets, including my Palm Pilot, for safekeeping while I preach. Following a revival sermon one night, a pastor approached me and asked me about preaching revival services at his church. I told him that if he could wait just a minute I would let him know if I was available. I made the mistake of telling him, in earshot of my wife, “My wife has my brain. Let me get it from her and I will let you know if I am available.” Well, needless to say, I haven’t lived that one down yet! 🙂
My dinosaur got sick and the bottom part of the screen became inoperable. So, I performed surgery on it. I opened it up and looked at a bunch of circuits that meant absolutely nothing to me. But evidently, I moved or bumped something that caused it to start working correctly. I closed the cover and felt real good about myself. When I put the stylus back into the hole it fits into, I noticed there was nothing there to hold it in. I looked around and discovered a little metal thingy in my chair. Something inside me said, “Aaron! Leave well enough alone.” To which I thought, “Well, it’s got to fit there. I’ll just reinsert it and it’ll be good as new.” Evidently, the metal touched something it should not have. Then, right there in my hands, my loyal dinosaur friend gave up the ghost and died!
After I finished wiping my tears, realizing that I had to have an electronic calendar to sync with Dottie’s computer, I began my quest to find the best way to do this. Horror of horrors! My investigation led me to the inescapable conclusion that I had to purchase an iPhone. Then, once I had an iPhone I could install Google Calendar and the information would be stored on “the cloud!” I thought, “I don’t want a new phone or an iPhone! I like my old flip phone fine! When it rings I open it and say, ‘Hello.’ And if I want to send a text, I turn it the other way and a keyboard magically appears. I can handle this. I don’t want any new-fangled technology! And I certainly don’t want my appointment information floating around on a cloud somewhere!” But, alas, it was the only way. So, kicking, screaming, and being dragged by circumstances beyond my control, I purchased an iPhone 4S. (The “S” means it has SIRI, a talking female computer. Ain’t this special? Now I have two females telling me what to do!) But to my amazement, a whole new world of technology has opened up to me. For a couple of weeks I have been climbing a steep learning curve. And while I am just now progressing to the point of becoming functionally illiterate with this new piece of technology, I like it!
Is there a Spiritual application here? Yep! You know there is! It is simply this: In our Spiritual-life journey, we Christians often become emotionally attached to our Spiritual dinosaurs and defend them at all costs. And while the old ways still work and are never to be discounted or belittled, sometimes we need to let our dinosaurs die. In fact, perhaps sometimes we need to kill a few. We just might discover a whole new world! I’m just sayin’!
Brother Aaron
