Curse or Gift?

Is anyone else having a problem with the need and dependence on all the technology to navigate through this pandemic?

I am not totally devoid of knowledge in this area.  In the course of my working career I have had my share of technological training as a medical secretary, Admission and Registration Clerk at a community college, Testing Center Proctor (all internet based testing) and even created my first website for Surviving Medical Mayhem on my own.  So I am comfortable learning and living in the computer age.

Then my IPhone started to die.  Really, isn’t the COVID-19 virus causing enough death?  I groaned at the thought of replacing it let alone at this time.  The last time I replaced my phone I spent hours on the phone with Apple and then more hours re-setting all the apps with the passwords and sign-ons.  OY!  But as my current phone was begging to be put out of its misery I took the plunge and replaced it. After all with the Stay at Home order, I had the time, right?

And that’s when the nightmare began.  I followed all the steps from backing up my old phone to the cloud and the downloading the information to the new phone.  Not all my information transferred over.  Then I had the laborious and eye crossing, headache and nausea producing job of going into each app and where needed re-entering my sign on and password.  I never counted how many apps I have on my phone – a lot.  Some of which I didn’t know I had, what they did or why I downloaded them in the first place.  When I thought I had meticulously and systematically gone through each app I found out I had missed some apps.  Of course, finding the ones I missed always happened when I needed to quickly gain access to the app.  By the time I found the password or reset it, I couldn’t remember why I even needed the app. After all, I am of a certain age where forgetfulness does happen with some regularity.

But I lost it Sunday morning.  It started out as a calm and serene morning.  The plan was to get the 8 am church service on the T.V. while we prepared breakfast and a good steaming hot cup of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee.  It was our ritual these past Sundays since the COVID-19 Pandemic.  Our YouTube was set up through Roku and for the last few weeks it went smoothly.  We were in the groove.  I was looking forward to it.  A little bit of coffee and a whole lot of Jesus makes any day better.

Ahh, but the new IPhone put a definite wrinkle in the plan.  YouTube on the TV asked us to sign in.  Thad put in what he thought was our password but “it” told us it was wrong.  Isn’t it always wrong?  We tried again to no avail.

We followed the steps for resetting your password.  No luck.

I started to feel the pressure and frustration replace the serenity I felt earlier in the morning.

Time was ticking.  7:40 am.  I really wanted my coffee.

We tried signing on to my business YouTube account but it did not have the church website listed in my Library.  I tried searching for the Church service but crunch time and stress was having its effect on my ability to punch in the right words for the search.

It’s 7:50 am.  I really needed my Dunkin’!

I grabbed my laptop and got into the right YouTube account.  I could see that the service had started with beautiful piano music and a soloist singing.   But the volume on our laptop for some unknown reason is traditionally too low to hear unless you have it sitting on your lap or right in front of you.  Thad quickly hooked up a portable speaker to it but there is too much static.  Of course, my stream of verbal commentary spewing from my mouth might have had something to do with the inability to hear the sermon.

At this point, I had so lost my religion that the Devil was dancing a jig and throwing a celebration party in anticipation of his newest member in hell.

I was reduced to whimpering: “God, I am trying to do everything I am supposed to do.  I want to be with you.  Is it too much to ask that I have Jesus, my mixed berries, cottage cheese, and my cup of Dunkin’ Coffee?”

It was in that moment that I realized I needed to listen to today’s sermon, to hear Christ’s words and to cling to them.

I really needed to be with God more than I needed my Dunkin’.

Finally, I go to the office and look up the sign on and password only to find out that while the password had been correct, it was the sign-on that was wrong.  Suffice it to say we missed the 8 am service.  But we are blessed with a 9:30 and an 11:00 am, so we still had options.

I went back to the TV, signed on and low and behold my library with the 9:30 am service was waiting to re-center me and bring me back to the arms of Jesus.

While we waited, Thad and I prepare our fresh berries and breakfast along with a delicious cup of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee. Decaf, of course.  Only the devil likes me on caffeine.

And what was the sermon about?  It was about the Road to Emmaus.  With COVID-19 the road in life is uncertain, filling us with fear, and life and death.  The sermon was just what I needed:  to remember that no matter what the life’s  road we are traveling on; Jesus will always be walking beside us.  Oh, God is good.  Sometimes the curse is also the gift.

Have you battled with technology during COVID-19?  What happened and how did you overcome it?  Please share that we might join in the learning and the laughter.

 

Thank you for reading my post.  If you have found it encouraging please consider liking, commenting or sharing it.  Feel free to even re-blog – may these words take flight!

I have additional insights I’d love to share with you found in the pages of my debut book: Surviving Medical Mayhem – Laughing When It Hurts.  To order a copy or learn more go to my website at www.lorettaschoen.com

Blessings for Health & Wellness.

Comments (2)

  1. Always right on target! I ended up watching on tv, phone and iPad three different churches because I was afraid to loose a service! Miss you my friends!

    May 1, 2020 at 9:13 am
    1. Can’t say you aren’t getting a full tank of the Spirit of the Lord!

      Miss you too, Linda.

      May 1, 2020 at 10:56 am

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