The Proper Place

It’s getting late here in Turkey, but I refuse to end the day without making a blog post.  I mean, after all, I know you are all eagerly awaiting such a post.  Erin tried to stay up long enough to read one, so excited was she to partake of it, but she just couldn’t hang in their long enough.  (Be sure not to believe that for a second by the way, though she does like reading my posts or at least fakes it well).

I suppose the reason for my slowness in posting today is my Macbook plug incident.  Somehow the cord is just plain jacked up and apparently finished (not as pretty as the one in the flashy photo to the left).  You know I tried to hold it every which way last night (think old-school tv antenna and you got the picture), so desperate am I for a charge.  But alas, to no avail.  Thankfully, one of my teammates is wise enough to own a Macbook (no offense to all you foolish Windows folk out there, typical arrogant Mac person I am–just kidding of course…or am I?) and was kind enough to allow me to borrow his charger today.  He leaves Sunday, however, so I will be at least 3 days without a charge, for I am certain there isn’t a Mac store here in the sprawling metropolis of Bandirma.  Or I already would have bought the house.

Here is the interesting thing about losing (ok, partly losing) the Macbook:  the time away from it helps to put the use and enjoyment of it in its proper place.

Yea, I know it’s simple, but at the same time, it is such a neglected reality.  For how many of us are inclined to step away, particularly willingly step away, from certain good things in our lives?  Or whether we are inclined to do so or not (I suspect few of us are), how many of us actually do so?  And if we lose something good, how often do we miss the benefits of the occasion by fretting over the lack of that good thing?  If you are anything like me, the answers are too sad and too plain.

The Bible certainly encourages the discipline of fasting.  Jesus even spoke as if it were to be a ‘given’ in the lives of His disciples (Matthew 6).  But the practice isn’t limited only to food.  The principle of walking away from a good thing for a time in order to hunger for and more thoroughly enjoy the best thing (ultimately, God, but also many other good things that may be higher on the priority chain) stands even for a Macbook (or Internet or TV or pick your poison…good poison that is).  And no matter what that good thing may be, the walking away from it inevitably brings a host of rewards- though I must confess, if we are seeing clearly, it will also reveal more than a few problems (both small and large).

But if we want to see ourselves and our things clearly, we must take the time to periodically walk away from them.  And I would add, to make a focused effort to use some of the extra time and energy to seek the Lord.  For it is only when we walk away from a thing that we can begin to see its proper place.  Only then can we see what kind of adjustments can or should be made.  For our good, the good of others and the glory of God.

So rejoice with me at the semi-losing of my Macbook!  For it is a very good thing, provided I use the opportunity well.

Though yes, I confess, I will be placing a call to Applecare very soon…