I work at home as a medical transcriptionist. This line of work requires that I have high-speed internet to download my voice files and upload my completed documents. Living in rural America as I do, high-speed internet is not that easy to come by. The major telecommunication companies that I contacted did not provide that kind of coverage for my area and one that I talked to implied that I am fortunate to even have phone service here. However, just when it seemed I was without hope in this situation, God provided the perfect solution through a local businessman who had the inspiration to venture into the world of wireless high-speed internet for my area. This has provided me with over 3 years of solid service, until last week that is when suddenly I began to experience serious loss of internet service. Now internet problems can very quickly become a frustrating situation for me as it can ultimately affect my ability to generate income. This dilemma went on for several days. I made several calls to the technicians, and under their guidance I tried a number of different troubleshooting maneuvers to try and resolve this issue, but nothing seemed to be working. Finally, a technician came to my house to see if he could save what was left of my hair. It didn’t take him too long to find the problem. The culprit ended up being a tree. You see, this system works on the premise of transmitting and receiving. A transmitter on a tower several miles from my house puts out a signal and a radio on my house picks it up and gives me the high-speed internet. There must be a clear line of sight from that tower to my radio in order for things to work properly. Three years ago, when this radio was installed, this tree was fairly small and in no way created a problem. However, over time that tree grew. I never noticed it growing, but nonetheless it was quietly creeping up and branching out until one day it began to interfere with the signal from the tower, causing me to lose my internet. Had I paid attention in the first place, I could have avoided the situation all together. God really taught me something from this experience.
Just as I cannot allow anything to grow up in between the transmitter tower and my radio, I must be alert and not permit something to sprout up and separate me and my Heavenly Father. As I thought about this, I realized it is not the objects that blow in suddenly that catch us off guard. Those are usually obvious and easy to catch. The things that prove the most problematic are those that start so small that they manage to slip in underneath the radar. These seemingly trivial things tend to sneak in, put down roots, and begin to inch their way up at a pace that evades our attention. This can continue unbeknownst to us until all of sudden one day we are faced with a major interruption of communication between us and our Creator. The longer this connection remains impaired, the greater the loss we are likely to incur. That being the case, it is imperative that we deal swiftly and soundly with such disruptions, doing whatever is necessary to restore that vital connection with our true Source. Once the obstruction has been eliminated, it is crucial that we make a concerted and consistent effort to ensure that the pathway remains clear. This is done through daily time in God’s Word and frequent interaction with Him throughout our daily lives in prayer and in our thought life. These preventative maneuvers will go a long way towards keeping small seedlings from becoming troublesome trees and will afford us the ability to live genuinely productive lives through a strong relationship with Christ, the One in whom we live, move, and have our being.
(John 15:5 MSG) "I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you're joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can't produce a thing.”
©LaDonna Neel - June 2010
