I have a confession:
If you took the reel of my life and rewound only a FEW years, you might be surprised to discover that, unlike most of my peers, new technology is my weakness. I drag my heels in the dust for as long as possible.
A few years ago, I still drove a car with a cassette tape deck and stashed a lumpy CD case under the driver's seat. I still carried quarters for pay phones well after phone booths started disappearing from public facilities. When I began texting from my "not so smart" phone, I finally felt adult-ish. Last year, when I finally traded in my clunker cell phone for something new and shiny, the people at the cell phone store laughed at me, turning my ancient device over and over, inspecting it for tribal symbols.
I know, I know. I get it.
The "me" from 2018 hesitated to even put new sheets of paper in the printer. Truthfully, I still don't know how to change the cartridge. Someone else always stepped in. Someone with more talent, more experience, more nimble fingers. I was okay with it.
I attended church on the island of Oahu in January 2020. A Samoan man with a bent frame and a booming voice stood at the pulpit and announced how much he looked forward to 2020. A perfectly balanced year, he said. I had just turned 40 and wanted to make it grandiose.
What does this have to do with miracles?
This website, this blog. This paragraph you're reading right now.... I designed it! It stemmed from thoughts in my head. I messed up and tried again. I made major mistakes. I grew from them. I bounced back. I learned that some kinks loomed a bit beyond my ability and YouTube tutorials. A friend bailed me out and shared her talents to make my vision a reality. (Thanks Milissa!) I leaned on others when I hit that wall. But...
I did it. I built a website! I navigated abstract virtual realty and staked a claim on this space. Crazy!
Yes, YAY for me! I've come a long way from typing up my high school papers on an electric typewriter. I can do hard things! The point is... I bet I'm not the only one.
What have been the hard things you overcame this year? I'm not talking about all the crummy, unpredictable, out-of-your hands stuff. How much stronger are you? What weaknesses are a little less weak? What relationships received a boost?
What about today? Was it hard to get out of bed this morning? You made it to the evening. What were the hard things you did today? Give yourself some credit! If you're still scrambling for some way to answer this question, if your day just ended up a junk day, remember the quote from Mary Anne Radmacher:
"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow."
Am I completely tech-savvy now? No way. But I've come a long way.
I'm curious about the older gentleman from Hawaii. Has he found balance in 2020?