Sunday, August 30, 2009

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

Modern technology never ceases to amaze me. You would think by now that I would be blasé about cell phones, the internet, and the improvements in long distance calling, but I still get excited about how instant, inexpensive, accessible and of vastly improved quality our modern communications are today.
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Julie and I were just talking yesterday about how much easier it is to stay connected to the grandchildren, as well as everyone else, now. I mentioned that back in the 1980’s when we moved from Indiana to Colorado I could only call my mother once a week on Sunday nights. Today, thanks to the reduction in long distance rates, I talk to my daughters and grandchildren every day, many times a day sometimes, and for as long as I want!
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In the 1990’s when Laurie first went to Ecuador, the connections were very poor and sometimes frustrating, and the costs were prohibitive. I didn’t dare talk more than once a week. When she and Fernando were engaged but living on different continents the telephone bills were always in the hundreds of dollars. Today, we can call whenever and for however long we want for $24.95 a month with Vonage, and the connection is so crystal clear most of the time that you would think they were right next door.
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Why am I still having communication problems, then? **Sigh** It’s my little Katie. Bless her little heart! Every time I get on the phone with her I feel so dissatisfied when I hang up. I adore hearing her sweet little voice, but it’s difficult to understand her sometimes. Don’t get me wrong—she talks just fine. She’s smart and has no speech problems. I don’t know if it’s because she puts her mouth too close to the mouthpiece, or what, but a lot of times she seems a little—or a lot—garbled.
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Other times she’s too far away from the mouthpiece! “I’m putting you on speakerphone, Grandma!” she’ll say, and the next thing I know she’s running around the room, playing with toys and totally distracted from what she’s supposed to be doing—talking to her grandma! I’m either straining to hear her, or I’m saying, “Katie? Katie? Are you there?”
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She did it to me again last night. “I’m putting you on speakerphone, Grandma!”
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“No, Katie, don’t do that. I can’t understand you then.”
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“But Grandma, I can’t hear you if I don’t put you on speakerphone.” Maybe if she moved the receiver off her mouth and more toward her ear we’d get somewhere. **Sigh**
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Then there are the times she gets all excited and she’s going on and on, waving her hands and giggling and talking about something she assumes I know all about, but in reality I don’t have a clue what that child is talking about! She must think her grandma is a total dunce, always asking, “What? What?” The poor little thing was totally frustrated when they got to Ecuador and everyone around her spoke Spanish. She didn’t understand them and they didn’t understand her. Then even her English-speaking grandma, with whom she had always been so close, didn’t understand her, either! Pobrecita!
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And don’t even get me started on trying to talk to Matthew! He loves, loves, loves talking to Grandma on the telephone. If he knows one of them is talking to me, he’s right there yelling, “I talk! I talk!” until they put him on the phone and then—total silence. Oh, they tell me he is nodding and grinning from ear to ear, hugging the phone and giving it kisses. (Sweeeeeeet!!!) But for someone who so loudly demands his turn to talk, he has very little to say. Well, until this week. Suddenly he’s decided he really will talk to Grandma—and I swear that child is speaking in tongues! Here we go again. Grandma is an idiot. “What? What? I don’t understand! What?”
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There is one thing I do understand, though. When I hear that little voice say, “Wuv you, Grandma!”, I understand. When Katie says, “I love you and miss you so, so, so, so, so much, Grandma!” it comes through loud and clear. I can hardly wait to get there and be able to put my arms around them, hold them in my lap and talk with them face to face!
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The good news is, as long as sin does not stand between us and the Lord, the lines of communication are crystal clear between us and our Heavenly Father. God has given us the gift of prayer. We can come to Him at any time and talk to our Father whenever and for however long we want to. The good news is also that He understands. My childish ramblings, when I don’t know how or what to pray—He understands. He forgives my distractions. He loves hearing from me. He loves hearing me say, “I love you, Lord, soooooooooo much!”
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He hears our prayers: “…He heareth the prayer of the righteous.” Proverbs 15:29
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He wants us to come as His children: “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name.” Matthew 6:9
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He delights in our prayers: “…the prayer of the upright is His delight.” Proverbs 15:8
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He helps us to pray: “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” Romans 8:26
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He wants us to leave our cares with Him: “Be anxious for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6,7
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He answers our prayers: “Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in Thy faithfulness answer me, and in Thy righteousness.” Psalm 143:1
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I would be a fool not to take advantage of the low rates and new technology we have available to us today to speak with my loved ones on the other side of the country or the world whenever I want to. How much greater is the free gift of prayer, and yet, so often we neglect to approach the throne of glory, our Father’s knee, and just talk with Him. Precious, awesome gift of communication with our Creator, Savior, Father—keep the lines open.

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