My computer

May 4, 2006

By Fred Smolchuck

During a missionary trip to the USSR, a minister friend noticed that quite a few of my Ukrainian books I had authored were circulating among the pastors. He asked me, “How do you write the material for these books?”

“Oh, I use my pen and pad and go to it. After a while I transfer it all to the typewriter, give it several re-readings, make corrections and submit the typewritten manuscript to the printer.”

“Oh, no, Fred,” he exclaimed. “Don’t you use a computer? Man, you’ll save time. All that handwritten stuff is passé.”

“Nope,” I replied. “I never had one, don’t know how to use it and at this stage I don’t think I want to try.”

“Well,” he said, “when we get home I’ll make sure our church gets you one. Listen, you need a computer and I will help you get it. With 30 minutes of instruction you’ll be on your way.”

Just as he promised, I was given the computer in 1995. I’m still trying to find my way. A couple of times during the search, I was almost sorry I ever started on the trip. I guess I must be just plain dumb, because my 13-year-old great-grandson is really a whiz at it. So are a lot of other kids.

It seems my computer just doesn’t like me; it has turned out to be an instrument of frustration. For instance, I started typing in my memoirs and had nearly half the manuscript in the computer. All of a sudden, while I was making a few corrections, the copy scrambled. When I tried to fix it, the same thing happened again and again. The text finally disappeared. Where’d it go? What’d I do wrong? How do I get it back? How do you like that? Help!

Well, actually, it’s not so bad at this point. I’m finding out how to proceed and how to dig myself out of the messes I get into. I’ve learned, even as a senior, to concentrate on the better, more efficient way by which to successfully accomplish my tasks. Computers are not meant to persecute but to help. The key is in getting to know your computer.

You know, the same is true about living for God and serving Him successfully. It gets to be quite a mess when we try to do it our own way without God’s help. Life becomes a painful struggle and a frustrating experience. Ever been there?

What we really need is to know God better than we do. How do we do that? It comes by getting more acquainted with His Word. The Bible tells you who God is, what He’s like and informs you of His willingness to help. The more of God’s Word we know, the more qualified we become to produce meaningful accomplishments in life.

You may accidentally or in a moment of weakness “push the wrong button” in life and get a negative result. But if you know God’s Word, you’ll find your way out of the dilemma and get back into the graces of our Lord.

Knowing God’s Word and having it abide in our hearts gives us light for direction, bread for sustenance and real life for a meaningful existence. It will provide “everything” we shall ever need. “The Lord is my Shepherd — I shall not want.”

Fred Smolchuck writes “Life’s Bits and Pieces” and lives in Springfield, Mo.