Ain't Technology Great

As I was headed down the road today, I got to thinking how it used to be at least in my time. I caught part of a movie called "The Grapes of Wrath". I think it was set back in the 30s. Henry Fonda was moving his family to California I think(I never read the book or got to see the whole movie) and I think the were driving across Oklahoma. They drove vehicle that reminded me of the Beverly Hillbillys with stuff hanging off everywhere. It looked like a tough trip.

My dad tells me of when they used to make a trip to Shreveport on Hwy 80. It was an
all day trip, the road was dirt and they had no air conditioner.

I remember going with my grandparents up to El Dorado to pick up car
parts since Granddaddy was a mechanic. Though it was only about 20
miles, it was planned out to get the most out of it. They would leave
a note on the door telling where the keys were (why lock it except to
keep out the illiterate) and fresh tea in the fridge and where the
leftovers were. The biscuits were in the oven haha. When they came
back Granddaddy would go out to the driveway and start looking for
tracks. He had had Rheumatoid fever when he was younger and it left him
bent over and he would walk around out there with his hands behind his
back looking at the ground. Then he would come back and tell us who
all came because the tracks they left. Anyways, we would always eat
sandwiches and eat plain lays outside the grocery store in the shade.


Anyways I remember when we would go out to Dallas, it was a trip and
we had to pack a lunch and carried our own food if we were staying
overnight. The eating joints weren't as abundant as today and we
didn't have the money to eat out. It always seemed like we would stop
at a Texas roadside stop that had picnic tables set up as oil wells. Or
maybe they made it like that later. But I remember when we went on
vacation, momma and daddy pouring over the maps. I learned how to read
road signs and maps and to calculate distance and time. Actually I
like it. I liked knowing where I was, where I was going, what was
coming up and how much longer to the next bathroom.

When I got old enough to be on my own it served me well. In fact I became the
stereotypical male. I didn't need to stop and ask for direction. I
studied those maps and knew all the intersections and towns. I would
sit down and figure the shortest route, the quickest route and the
easiest route. Then one day we stepped up in the world. I joined AAA.
Just tell them where and when you were going and what you wanted to
see and some more information. Within a week I had a thick package of
maps in my hand. It told us everything. I am an information addict. I
loved it. This even told what hotels and gas station were where. I
hadn't had this information before. I was uptown.

Fast forward to today. I am driving down the interstate on a multi-state trip. I don't
have a map in my car and had only glanced briefly at a map right before I left my house. But there
is this thing on my dash by the name of TomTom. He is full of
information. I just put my destination in and presto, instantly I am
told how far it is and the exact time I will arrive If I stick to his
schedule. Don't go missing turns because then he gets an attitude. I
am showed hotels, airports, railways roads, it not only shows me gas
stations, now with technology I can know their prices before I get
there. Ahh want more info? I got Onstar. I press a button tell them
where I want to go or ask where the nearest Burger King is and they
download it to me. I even had something going on with my car yesterday
that concerned me, so I called them and they ran a diagnostic and told
me everything was ok. Let's see, my info center tells me the time,
temp,tire pressure in all 4 tires, gas mileage, how much farther I can
go on a tank of gas. I got a built in cell phone. Remember the day the
only way you could call on a trip was to find a payphone and if someone
died at home they might be buried when you get home before you know
anything about it. With cellphones now we are never out of touch, well
unless you live in my part of the country. Now I get email, check the
blogs and make reservations from this little device we can't do without
now. In fact I am typing this outside of Lynchburg Va on my cell
sitting at a Cracker Barrel. "No thank you, I don't need any desert,
but if you would top off my glass I would be grateful. Thank you." Oh
sorry about that. I am also carrying on a text conversation with my
wife and daughter who are visiting Washington DC on a tour.

Wow, how far has technology come? Our grandparents would be amazed. But you
know there is one Who has always been the same and will always remain
the same. He is so far ahead of technology that this stuff is rotary dial to
Him. He was and is and always will be. What do I mean by that? God has
always existed, He exists now, and He will always exist. God is
infinite, everyone and everything is finite. That means the we have a
beginning and are controlled by time. God created time so He has to be
outside of time. Jesus said "Before Abraham was, I am." Did Jesus
misspeak. No because the Pharisees accused Him of calling Himself God.
By saying I am, he was saying I exist, before time, now in time, and
in the future. But I say all this to say no technology will ever
approach the greatness of the One who loves you.