Left behind

First of all, I apologize if you came here looking for something related to the Left Behind Series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. This is not it. So far I have not been left behind by the Rapture, at least as far as I know. I do believe in the second coming of Jesus Christ, but I don’t believe there will be anything or anybody left behind after that event* nor that there will be anything secret about it.**

However, this week I did feel like I was being left behind - by technology. My favorite internet community is moving to new software. When I looked at the new environment, I seriously considered whether my ties to the community were strong enough to accept the annoyances of the new software. Maybe it was time to “kick the habit” (and the association of that phrase with addiction is not entirely inapplicable here). As I considered that option, a feeling rose up within me that I recognized as grief. I mourned the good days that would be left behind us, the comradery, the laughter. I had to remind myself that I didn’t have to leave it all behind me. I could simply take another look at the new software and decide to stick around. Even though I had expressed reluctance to make the jump, I certainly hadn’t burned any bridges.

As I watched the community settle into the new software, I soon started to see the advantages that others were seeing. It turned out to be a relatively easy move once I decided I was going to make it. But during the one or two dark days as I watched the inevitable come and wondered whether the move would be made without me, I could identify with people who fight change. It’s frustrating to be hanging on to the old, familiar ways of doing things while others are tossing aside the old and rushing to embrace the new. As I associated myself with the old, negative remarks began to sound personal. It was sort of a “like me, like my dog” mentality. If people show disregard for what I value are they showing disregard for who I am? If the crowd goes rushing over to the new software and leaves me behind crying, “the old is better,”*** does it mean that they don’t care whether I continue to be part of the community? It seemed that all I was seeing was the backs of people leaving me behind. I kept watching to see if anyone was going to turn around to make sure I was keeping up.

I’m a part of this community by choice. The truth is that they can get along without me. I hope that my presence is a positive addition to the community but I know that it would not be a dreadful loss if I were no longer around. That knowledge does not cause me grief. My value is in serving, not in being served. Yet, I caught a glimpse of the grief experienced when people watch the things they value being set aside and wonder whether anyone truly values them. I need to stash away this brief exposure to such grief so that I can recognize it when I see it in others.

Notes:

* But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. (2 Peter 3:10 NIV)

**Look, he is coming with the clouds,
and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him (Revelation 1:7 NIV)

*** No one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, `The old is better.' " (Luke 5:39 NIV)