It has to be said: I’m a technology geek. When something new comes into our home that has wires or plugs or USB cords, I’m the girl to call. IPod? Computer? Digital camera? I’ve got you covered. TiVo? Yep. TiVo with a DVD player? No problem. For those of you who know me, I know you’re laughing, because you don’t believe me. I don’t think I come across as Radio-Shacky. More as Desperate-Housewifey, but it’s the truth. I researched and purchased our last computer, brought it home, set it up, installed everything, and cringe every time someone clicks fifty times on an icon or yells, “Mom, it’s not working!” Because I know for a fact that it is working. It’s usually user-error. But there is a downside to my mad skills.

    “MOOOOOOOOOM! Can you help me print something?”

    “Can I download a song from iTunes?”

    “Where is the ClipArt?”

    “Why won’t the internet work?”

    “MOOOOOOOOM? Can I play Spongebob on your laptop?”

    A downside, to be sure.

    Technology has become a part of our lives. Instant messages, text messages, cell phones, printed documents at the touch of a button, e-mail, faxes, live TV paused for our own convenience. This morning, I paused The View so I could dry my hair, and then I came back to hear the rest of what Supernanny Jo Frost had to say about childhood sleeping patterns. All of my children have been sleeping through the night for years. So why did I pause the show? Because I could.

    The other day, I found myself at my computer, answering emails about one thing or another, then flipping to a document that I needed to polish, then checking my phone for a message. My kids were at school. It was a beautiful day. I clicked back to my inbox. Three more messages. One that would require some phone calls to follow-up. One that made me really, really sad. One that kind of bugged me. My lovely computer. How did you turn on me so quickly?

    I grabbed my iPod. (Could I use technology for good and not evil?) I tossed off my flip-flops and stepped into some gym shoes, and headed for the park. Now, as much as I AM a technology girl, I am NOT much of a nature girl, but I have never been called to JUST GET OUTSIDE as much as I was in that minute. I found my playlist marked “inspiration” and started to walk. I found myself engaged in instant prayer, before I even knew I was praying.  And then suddenly, I was crying.  What sent me over the edge?  The emails?  The phone messages? The beauty of the day?  The music? 

    This has happened to me before, and almost always when I am outside.  Instantly overwhelmed, I will catch myself by surprise when I connect with God usually at a moment when I didn't even know I was seeking His guidance.  Once on a bike ride on a mountain (now THAT is a good story. . .I don’t even like bikes) and often by the water.  And today, just the pull of the sun, and the trees, on this path, by this lake, I was led out of my own world and into God’s world where I could just BE. And I was thinking of so many things that I needed to lift up, and so many things that I had to be grateful for, so I walked, and I listened, I cried a little, and I prayed.   Maybe I am a nature girl after all. . .  

    I like that path. There are no screens or beeps or buzzes there, and even though I normally enjoy the modern conveniences, wired or wireless, I loved being where I couldn’t receive any messages—except the ones that really mattered.

Inspiration Playlist 

Here Comes The Sun—The Beatles
Beautiful One—By the Tree
Imagine—David Archuleta
I Say a Little Prayer—Diana King
100 Years—Five For Fighting
With My Own Two Hands—Jack Johnson
Let It Be Me—Jackson Browne
Shed a Little Light—James Taylor
Hallelujah—Jeff Buckley
Suddenly I See—KT Tunstall
Somewhere Over the Rainbow—Israel Kamakawiwo’ole
Anyway—Martina McBride
She’s a Butterfly—Martina McBride
Unwritten—Natasha Bedingfield
Beautiful Day—U2
God Only Knows—The Beach Boys