Watching and Listening

 

Where can I go from your Spirit?  Where can I flee from your presence?  If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. ~Psalm 139:7-8

Danny and I enthusiastically anticipate our Face Time conversations with daughter, Sarah, and the grandchildren, especially our oldest, Virginia.  Consumed by work as of late, Sarah hasn't had the opportunity for any lengthy chats in the last two weeks, so we are delighted to finally connect with here this past Saturday.

We catch up on each other's news, always more on their end than ours and are especially anxious to hear about Virginia's recent trip to the Great Smoky Mountains, Gatlinburg to be specific, with her friend whose family has invited her to join them on their vacation.  Danny and I have taken Virginia to the mountains with us on two different occasions where we stayed gorgeous cabins.  The first trip is in 2019,

And the second, in 2022.

Virginia is bubbling over with all the details of her recent mountain adventures.  She describes here first foray into the icy waters of Little Pigeon River via innertube, even the time or two that the rapids practically upend her.  Although they do stay in a cabin-like motel in town, she does get to visit a sprawling luxury cabin owned by a relative of the family where, she says, she had vast and breathtaking views of the mountains all around them.  What a thrill!

Since her birthday (sweet 16!) falls during the week Virginia is there, her friend and her mother even take her shopping in Gatlinburg and gift her with a beautiful, and what Sarah describes as probably expensive, bracelet.  How thoughtful of them!

But the highlight of her adventure is when they go to one of Gatlinburg's finest restaurants, The Peddler, for dinner.  I instantly recognize the name as I've heard my friends, Karen and Mike Friday at Friday's Forever on YouTube, talking about what a high-end place it is, one best suited for special occasions when it's okay to splurge.  While we're using Danny's phone for this Face Time call, he checks his computer to see the Peddler's menu.

Holy guacamole!  Those prices!!!  And Virginia tells us there were six people at dinner that evening.  Six!!!  It takes me a moment to pick my jaw up off the floor.

The long and short of it is, Virginia will never forget how special her 16th birthday was.  After chatting for over an hour, we end the call with our prolific good-byes and love-yous before shutting down the screen.  I find myself wishing, not for the first nor last time, that they lived closer to us.

After a while, I decide to check my email on my phone to see if anything important has landed in my inbox during the interim.  I can't believe what I see!  Front and center, as plain as day, is an ad for The Peddler!  What???  We use Danny's phone for the Face Time, his computer to research the restaurant, yet the ad comes to my phone!

No matter what we do, intentionally or not, our devices are always listening to us and tracking our every move.  It's intrusive, unsettling and yes, downright scary.  Big Brother is no longer confined to Orwell's 1984.  He's here, he's now and he's watching.  Sadly, it's the price we have to pay if we wish to stay in touch with family and friends over the miles.

But here is the good news - Our Father has looked over us and out for us time out of mind.  There isn't anywhere we can roam that He doesn't see us, hear us, care for us, and love us beyond measure.  We are bound to Him through Jesus and the Spirit with everlasting ties that nothing in heaven or on earth can ever unravel.

I'll take that kind of watching and listening any day of the week!

Amen!

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