Oh, the blessings and the curses of modern technology. As we become more and more involved with technology, we become sold on all the good that it can bring, but beware there is a dark side that brings the curses of becoming dependent upon it.
For instance, the internet: Today very few people live without having the internet interwoven throughout their daily lives. It all started with email and surfing the web on your desktop computer. Now we have laptops, tablets, iPads, mini-iPads, and smartphones.
I was introduced to dial-up internet while living in LaSalle Parish. It wasn’t but a short time when High Speed DSL came out and nearly the whole parish had access to DSL. I became spoiled.
When I bought our present house and Cameron moved in, one of the first things to do was secure a land-line telephone and sign up for DSL. Shortly after establishing the address here, I receive a letter from AT&T about some of it services such as unlimited long-distance and DSL service. I immediately signed up for both of these services.
Having the house located in Lincoln Parish only nine miles from Ruston and having two state universities within nine miles and only four miles off of Interstate 20, I never in a million years imagined that I would not have access to a High-Speed DSL service.
You can imagine my dismay and shock when as the AT&T service man was installing a new phone box on my old house, he ask what kind of internet I was planning on using. My answer was DSL with you guys. He began to laugh and informed me that the DSL service stopped about a quarter of a mile down the road.
When I called AT&T to inquire why they sent me a sign-up form for High-Speed DSL, they informed me that they would put me on a waiting list and would inform me as soon as it became available. I knew I was in trouble when she could not tell me what the time frame was for DSL expansion in my area, or even if there were plans for expansion, but she would be glad to sign me up for dial-up. I laughed and said no thank you. I have been on the waiting list for High-Speed internet now for fourteen years.
This began a long and frustrating odyssey of trying to secure a decent internet. I said, alright, I will sign up for cable. You guessed it, no cable runs this far out in the country. Remember I am only nine miles from the Ruston city limits.
At that time my only option was satellite. I had to sign up for two years and every time it rained; we lost the signal. After my two years I could not cancel fast enough and return their equipment.
Since that time, I have been using a Hot Spot using a cell phone line. This would be great if I had good cell service here at the house. For me to talk on my cell phone I have to be in the front yard. My two-year contract is now up and I am on the search for decent internet service.
If you are like me and have become dependent on the internet you understand how important it is. Today we do everything from communicating with each other to paying bills. You may not realize it but without the internet you would not be able to read this article. I write this article, make sure I am connected to the internet (which at times is a chore), attach it to a email and send it to The Jena Times and the rest, as they say, is history.
The truth is we now live in an age when being able to connect with each other is vital to our lifestyle and when there is interference to this we are shut down.
The truth is we need to be connected to God and the good thing about this is there is never a break in that line. We don’t need High Speed DSL, satellite, hotspots, or cell-phones. All we need is some good old fashion prayer time.
When life gets tough, try a little time on your knees talking to the Good Lord and it will make a difference in your life.
