News:
A new addition
Well, it's happened. We have a new addition to the family. I know it's not unusual, and probably only to be expected after a wedding. But it has certainly taken me by surprise. It is not what I expected, and not what I asked for. I never even knew such a thing existed.
It sits, small, round and grey in the sitting room, like a tiny sponge, silently soaking up every sound, identifying every voice. It doesn’t make a fuss, or a mess, or make demands. It is quiet, unobtrusive, extremely polite and deferential. In fact, it is quite easy to forget that it's there. And most of the time, I do! That is until someone says the magic words, 'Hey Google!' Suddenly, the small round sponge lights up and becomes fully animate.
"Hey Google," we say. "What's on the television/how do you cook leftover salmon/play the sound track to 'Cat Boy'/how do you get red wine out of the carpet/can you wake me up in half an hour...?"
Please…?
And it does! It really does. It tells you what you have asked. And it tells you the answer straightaway. Straightaway! I have no idea how it does that. Using Google on any other device in our locality is fraught with difficulty. What's more, if it doesn't know the answer it (I beg your pardon, I shouldn’t say 'it', for she is definitely 'she'), she apologises and says that she doesn’t know …yet! Which implies that she is going to find out for future reference! When we told her that we loved her, she said 'Aww! Thank you.'
I think we said, 'Aww', back!
And the funny thing is that when we talk to 'her' we look at 'her' and refer to 'her'. The other day, I noticed we were talking in whispers, as if we were afraid that 'she' might hear.
I think she is amazing - as well as being ever-so slightly disconcerting.
It's great for someone - or something - to be able to come up with an answer to almost everything you should need to know - just like that! But when it comes to the really big questions, it's not that simple. She was stumped when I asked her how I could find happiness. Some questions haven't got quick and easy answers. Some questions take time and effort to find the answer. Like trying to find God, for example. The Bible tells us that if we 'seek God with all our heart' we will surely find him (Jeremiah 29). And I believe it's worth taking the time to do so - to seek God with all your heart, until you find him, for he is waiting to be found. It may take some doing, but it’s definitely worth it.
Google, on the other hand, told me the answer straight away. I can find God 1542 miles away, in Hungary!
Rev’d Stephanie Gordon-Jeffs