Last night, Kevin and I were getting ready for bed and chatting about the day. We’d all made the trek to see family on Friday, and Emmie and I, and the kids, had stayed over for a little gathering at my folks’ yesterday. We (or the Beverly Hillbillies – it was hard to tell the difference, looking at the car) got home late afternoon yesterday, and we had a lot to catch up on.

He happened to glance at the clock, thinking it was later than it was.

“What? It’s only 10:00!”

My response?

“It’s 10:00. Do you know where YOUR children are?”

Some of you are chuckling right now. That is, the some of you that are, what, 45 or older? 🙂

When we were kids, after the news, at 10:00pm, there was a public service announcement on television that asked that exact question. It was 10:00, after all! It was late and NOTHING GOOD can happen after 10:00!!

That lead to a conversation about how programming stopped altogether not much later than that. I think it was about midnight that the Star Spangled Banner would play, with a picture of the flag waving in the wind on the screen, then it would go to one of these:

And later, one of these:

Then you know what happened?

Those few who were actually up to see it, when to sleep. Insomniacs read a book.

No one knew what happened in the world until the headlines hit their front porch the next morning. For that span of a few hours, we lived in blissful ignorance, enjoying some peace and disconnection from the world to rest and recharge.

I miss those days.

Don’t get me wrong. I love technology. I do. But I hate the 24-hour, in-your-face, NEWS, WAR, ABDUCTION, SLAUGHTER, news cycle. I don’t need to have constant stimulation to the point that I feel I’m incomplete without knowing what my Facebook friends had for dinner or what their children wore to school. Maybe if my mind wasn’t so full of every second of the world’s day, I’d remember that I’m not supposed to really be of the world. Just in it.

I think it’s interesting that while we think we have to (SHOULD! MUST!) know everything as world citizens, God doesn’t give that privilege to all of His own citizens. He lets us know what He thinks we need to know and expects us to trust Him for the rest. Kind of like we do with our own children. There is some stuff they’re just not ready to know, and I suspect the same is true of us.

So, at 10:00 tonight, make sure you know where your kids are, and then take a look at where you are. If you’re parked in front of the TV or the computer, turn the blooming things off and pretend it’s one night in the ’60’s and the Star Spangled Banner has just played. Then, read a book or GO TO BED. I promise you the news will still be on your front porch the next morning, and you can trust God to take care of it for a few hours.

“Trust God from the bottom of your heart;  don’t try to figure out everything on your own.” Proverbs 3:5 MSG

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away^.  But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son,but the Father only.” Matthew 24:35-36 ESV 

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Romans 12:2 NLT