I love Google. Without a doubt, it has changed the way I think, read, write, and wander on the Internet. The following, from January 11, 2007, is about using Google to explore my childhood in an unexpected way. In the intervening eleven + years since it was written, there have been tremendous advances in satellite imagery for the common person. Check out Google Earth Street View where I can take a leisurely stroll around York, Nebraska, even seeing people on sidewalks!
I played around with Google tonight. Using the Maps link, I typed in addresses of the homes I grew up in as a little boy. What an amazing feature! The satellite images when you zoom in look to be only several hundred feet off the ground. It was eerie doing a tour of York, Nebraska from space. I saw the ball fields I played on and followed the paths I walked to school. I pinpointed the exact spot where I had my only car accident and I could see the concrete slabs that were my own personal basketball courts, adjacent to our houses. Everything is neater from the atmosphere, much more of a pattern than is discernible at eye-level. You can't see peeling paint or tell if the grass needs mowing. There was also another qualification for a community missing from the photos: people. The town could have been deserted. I'm kind of glad. It would bother me to see strangers standing in the yards of what still feel like our houses.
At times, we need some distance to get an accurate view of life. In the middle of a crisis, it's hard to see the overall picture. More details don't always provide more clarity. Sometimes too much information clouds the image. From the satellite camera, I can see the entirety of York, Nebraska at once. I think that is how God sees His children when we are in our daily-weekly-monthly binds. The Almighty, from His vantage point, understands the fluidity of our lives when we get bogged down in the minutia and the latest crisis. I admit, I live day-to-day without putting much thought into the future, either near or distant. Maybe there is some merit- I live in the present- but maybe I get caught up worrying about the little stuff instead of seeing myself in an overall scheme. Google is pretty good about zooming in and zooming out. The Lord, as always, has it perfected. And I bet He doesn't even have to get on the Internet to find me!
Applicable quote of the day:
"Never write about a place until you're away from it because that gives you perspective."
Ernest Hemingway
God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com
At times, we need some distance to get an accurate view of life. In the middle of a crisis, it's hard to see the overall picture. More details don't always provide more clarity. Sometimes too much information clouds the image. From the satellite camera, I can see the entirety of York, Nebraska at once. I think that is how God sees His children when we are in our daily-weekly-monthly binds. The Almighty, from His vantage point, understands the fluidity of our lives when we get bogged down in the minutia and the latest crisis. I admit, I live day-to-day without putting much thought into the future, either near or distant. Maybe there is some merit- I live in the present- but maybe I get caught up worrying about the little stuff instead of seeing myself in an overall scheme. Google is pretty good about zooming in and zooming out. The Lord, as always, has it perfected. And I bet He doesn't even have to get on the Internet to find me!
Applicable quote of the day:
"Never write about a place until you're away from it because that gives you perspective."
Ernest Hemingway
God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com
1 comment:
Good thoughts.
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