It was Thursday, and as usual, I was busy working on weekend projects. My biggest project, of course, was my Sunday sermon. Most people don't understand the amount of hard work that goes into preparing a Sunday sermon.
Until Thursday, I didn't realize how much time I spent on Google.
I had some coffee, and was resting in my chair, thinking about what I was finding on Google. I thought back to when I was a youngster, and back then, we didn't have Google, nor did we have the Internet. What would young people do today if they didn't have Google, the Internet, or cell phones? I'm not sure they would have a life.
In my younger days, we didn't have any of that, but there was one thing we did have that made all the difference in the world. We may not have had Google, but we had Grandma.
I spent some time with my Grandma. If I wanted to know anything, all I had to do was ask her, and she always had the answer.
Once, I had to do an essay for my science class. I was really stumbling around, and then Grandma stopped by to visit us. When that happened, I had a brilliant idea.
I went to Grandma and asked her about my subject and if she knew anything about it. She said she did, and she began explaining everything to me about that, and I took notes. Looking at those notes afterward, I didn't quite understand everything, but I put them together as best I could and prepared my essay.
That was the first essay I received an A. My teacher took me aside and asked me how I came up with all of these wonderful ideas in my essay. I did not know what to say, I was a little embarrassed. I simply told him I had done research on that subject. He smiled at me, congratulated me, and said, 'Well done. Keep up the good work.'
Throughout my teenage years, I received advice from my grandmother. Her advice always turned out to be the right advice. I learned to trust her advice, and it helped me out.
Every once in a while, when I'm searching for something on Google, I think of my Grandma. In my mind, she was Google before Google was even invented. Where she acquired all her wisdom is beyond me, but I was glad to draw on it when I needed to.
I have learned that asking the right question to the right person will bring you to the right answer. And that sure described my Grandma.
Over the last few years, I hope I have inherited some of Grandma's wisdom. I'm not sure I have, but I'm going to pretend I did, and pass it on to my grandchildren, just like my Grandma did.
A verse of Scripture came to mind. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed” (James 1:56).
God’s wisdom is better than Grandma’s. I just need to ask Him. Asking opens the door to the flow of wisdom I need in my life.
Dr. Snyder is a former pastor who lives with the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage, wife Martha, in Ocala, Fla. His email is [email protected].
