First Baptist Church of Herndon

Moving on

Linda Soller | Apr 20, 2015

It was Easter afternoon, after church and before our family dinner when my DVR died. I am afraid it suffered, whirring and churning for three days before the cable guy came and put it out of its misery. It all started when I decided my TV options were not so good. Without a second thought I pressed the button to my friendly DVR to see what I’d previously recorded to fill my one hour of down time. There was a brief last flash of my titles then the screen went blank. Moments later the error message. I tried to reboot, but to no avail. Sadly I called the cable company and reported the events. They tried to send a signal, and eventually my cable returned, but the DVR was gone. The hard drive too weak to do anything but sputter. Once or twice there would be silence, which I took to mean it was trying to return. I was wrong. I do try to be the glass half full person and so I have to say it was a good week for my DVR to die. My husband was out of town and I could watch the shows I would normally record, without boring him to death. My library of recorded shows was fairly empty with only one show I was truly sorry to lose. It all seemed to have happened so quickly. Now I had to start over.

I know what you are thinking. Really? This is about her DVR? She needs to get a life.  Hey, I bet you’ve lost something which was part of your routine. You paused and thought, wow! I will really miss… Yes, I did know it would be replaced, but it’s rarely the same. We get used to something and the minor differences seem so much more important than they really are. I think much of our life feels out of our control, so when we lose something familiar, even something like a DVR, we do feel loss. Yes, this example is a bit silly, but imagine something really important. Think of those who go to bed and wake up lucky to be alive because a storm in the night has torn their home to shreds. The pictures on the news and in the papers are hard to look at, and the reality must seem beyond belief for those living through it. A house can be replaced too, but what about all the things inside the house which made it feel comfortable, which made it personal, which made it a home? They are just things, but we are human, and we feel loss.

As we move further from Easter I think about the disciples wondering what to do next. Over the course of a week they had entered the city triumphant, ready to celebrate Passover, and in what must have felt like a blink of an eye Jesus was arrested and killed. Yes he came back, but not to stay, not to return to walking through the countryside with them as in days past. The daily life they’d come to know would be no more. Their job was suddenly all the more important, all the more critical. They faced setting the ground work for the future of their faith. No doubt most didn’t feel prepared to take on such a responsibility, asking themselves, “How can I get through this?” With various levels of confidence and dedication each disciple faced moving on. They left the security of their traveling cluster of friends and family and scattered to spread the good news. We are blessed they did.

When I am wallowing in self-pity over something trivial like a DVR, I remember how insignificant it is in the grand scheme of things. When I see the pictures of destruction after nature rages through an area, I pray those people will be able to appreciate any and every positive crumb they can find in their ordeal, and know God is with them. When I think of the weeks after Easter I’m thankful for the perseverance of all of the disciples who knew the importance of moving on. Sometimes when we least expect it our world is shaken by loss. God is with us in those times, supporting us, and saying it’s time we were moving on.

Have a great week! :o)  Linda

A warm spring smile and shout out to Ms. Frieda, Stephan, Jo, and Tim.