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Technology. It seems that we love it, hate it, or don’t understand it. Sometimes it can be all of these at the same time. It keeps moving forward trying to help us do things better, faster, or easier and now adds a little help with AI. Whether those goals get met or not can be a toss-up and perhaps more so if we were born before most of the devices for those under age 25 find common.

I like to think I am reasonably savvy with my computer, iPad, and iPhone but when I wear out one version I know and face a new model I feel like I am starting all over again. And that happened again last week when my iPhone of 7 years needed to be replaced. Everyone was very helpful at the store in telling me how to use it and what it could do but then the word widget came up and nothing in my brain connected with what it was or what it did even though I had seen the word before on my computer and somewhat ignored it. 

Now I learned that I could determine how and what pattern I wanted to use to set up my widgets and I had no clue. They assured me that I could come in for a session on all this and I left hoping the latest You Tube video would point me in the right direction by first defining what a widget is and what I use it for. Of course some of you are chuckling because you already know all that. 

So the search engine took me to this definition: “Widgets are small applications or components that provide specific functions or display information within a graphical user interface. They allow users to interact with software or access information quickly without opening a full application.”  Hmmmm. 

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Digging a little further I found that the word widget replaced the words like gadget and gizmo in the times past I grew up in. My question still wasn’t answered about whether it was a distraction or some help to me.

What I know I don’t need are more distractions in my life. I tend to be a pretty focused, self-disciplined person and don’t struggle with distractibility as much as many others do and yet I am not immune to it. I know our brains are constantly on the go like conveyor belts of old with bits and pieces of information sitting on that conveyor belt running all the time. Most of the time I don’t notice it but every so often some shiny object catches my eye and my attention as well and the conveyor belt stops along with whatever direction toward a goal I was pursuing.

It can happen in the midst of an assigned task or even while pursuing something I love and want to attend to like my devotional time each morning. I love that time and count on it to keep me growing and connected to my relationship with God. I set myself up for success I think. I always use the same chair with coffee nearby along with a pen, journal, and my Bible. Experience has shown me that this time makes all the difference in how my day will go and despite a list of “to do’s,” I will accomplish more if I don’t skip it or cut it short. Even with my best effort a widget on that conveyor belt in my brain can grab my attention for a moment and urge me to follow it down some rabbit trail.

Where is Brother Lawrence when I need him?  Some of you have doubtless heard of him as the author of the little gem entitled The Practice of the Presence of God that focuses on finding God in everyday experiences and learning to cultivate a continuous awareness of God’s presence. More than a few years ago someone loaned me their copy and I read it and found it impactful. 

His quotes are full of wise counsel and conviction. One example is:

“In order to know God, we must often think of Him; and when we come to love Him, we shall then also think of Him often, for our heart will be with our treasure.”

I do know God and think of Him often and want to know Him better. I also love Him and the more that love has grown the more often I think of Him and yet there are times when I am distracted that I feel like the Apostle Paul in Romans 7 when he laments he decides one way and then acts another. That busy conveyor belt has grabbed my attention when that was not my desire. The enemy of my soul who doesn’t want me to focus on God puts some little widget on the belt that catches my eye. 

I can once again be warring with widgets and then reminded of Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth to take every thought captive. 

How grateful I am for others who faced widgets even though they didn’t call them that. They encourage my heart to not let them undo my desire to spend time with the Lover of my Soul whom I most desire to spend time with. They remind me that if the enemy of my soul did not know I loved God so much, he would not try to catch my attention on his little devices.

“Do not be discouraged by the resistance you will encounter from your human nature; you must go against your human inclinations. Often, in the beginning, you will think that you are wasting time, but you must go on, be determined and persevere in it until death, despite all the difficulties.”  Brother Lawrence

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