I’m astonished every day at how small the world has become with the global technology that allows me to see and talk real time with our son in Tokyo via computer, to exchange photos with friends in Europe, chat “live” on line with a soldier nephew stationed on the other side of the earth, call someone no matter what patch of ground I’m standing on or they are standing on at the time, and see home videos right after they are made in New Zealand.
For my parents’ generation, a letter sent from across the ocean took 2-3 weeks to reach its destination, so conversations were separated not just by miles, but by months between responses. When I was in Africa 35 years ago, I had to preschedule a phone call home a week in advance, and was allowed only three minutes (which cost an exorbitant $25 at the time) as the linking of all the operators to put the call through took incredible logistics. It was such a miracle and privilege, however, to hear my parents’ voices through all those many miles of phone line. Now, as a parent with a child far away, it feels like I can practically touch my son’s face through the computer screen (or at least I can see if he has shaved that day or not!)
We live in incredible times, and no doubt more “shrinking” of the world is in store for future generations. I can’t help but think this is all good, to help diminish the differences between societies and peoples, as we become more and more accessible and familiar to each other.
He’s got the whole world in His hands, and we have it all at our fingertips.
Hankerings 