Look, Mom! No Hands!

© Johanna Goodyear | Dreamstime.com

This Christmas, I received some computer software that I've had my eyes on for a while now.  With this software, I can control my computer with mere words.  I can dictate my posts, my articles, and even my books.  Even now, my hands are nowhere near the keyboard.  In addition, I can give commands to my computer, such as open, close, delete and so on.  I am hoping this software will save me both time and energy.  The tricky thing about the software is that I have to train it to recognize my voice.  It must be trained to pick up on my pronunciations and inflections.  The process is a little tedious and time-consuming, but I know it will be worth it in the end.

Overall, I've discovered that the software works very well.  It typically follows my commands and understands what I am asking it to do.  Every now and then, however, it will make a mistake and type a word incorrectly or launch a faulty command.  Supposedly, I can continue to train the software so that it will make fewer and fewer mistakes over time.

As strange as it may seem, the entire process reminds me of my relationship with the Lord.  He, too, has trained me to recognize His voice and follow His commands.  Still, after all my training, I continue to make mistakes.  Like my software, I am sometimes confused about what my Master is asking me to do, and in my confusion, I perform the wrong action.  Sometimes, I understand what my Master is asking of me, but the instructions don't make sense, so I choose to do things my own way.  During these times, the Lord has to do some training of His own.  During these training sessions, He speaks to me and helps me to, once again, recognize His voice.  He drills me in following His commands without hesitation or complaint.  He reminds me that even when I don't understand, I must follow His instructions exactly, for He always knows best.

I'm looking forward to training my computer software to the point where it makes fewer and fewer mistakes.  But even more so, I am looking forward to being trained so that I will make fewer and fewer mistakes.  Yes, it is a tedious and time-consuming process, but as with my software, I believe it will be worth it in the end.