defective coding

I wanted to. . .

a: run
b: go back to sleep
c: pretend I'd lost my mind
d: strangle the inventor of CSS

Mostly all of the above, with a strong emphasis on the last one.
It was a rainy Thursday and I came to class prepared. I hate Web design. Most of my Web design experience comes from manipulating MySpace layouts, not creating something from scratch. However on the exam we had to look at a picture and then recreate it in Dreamweaver, styling it with CSS. I didn't even know where to start. I heard people saying they wanted to barf and cry, but honestly I felt so at peace. I decided I was going to do the best I could. I started piecing things together, and yet all of my styles [coding in CSS] were not showing up in my pages. I tried everything I could think of and nothing was working. There was one point where I felt panicky and my heart somersaulted and skidded to a grinding halt.

And all of a sudden I found the piece of missing code. I hadn't linked my CSS and my HTML sites together and so even though I was typing the right code, no one else could see it because I wasn't linked or connected to the source code.

I think this can apply to the way I live my life. I can do and say all the right things, and even have all of the pieces of my life in the right order, but if I'm not linked and connected to Jesus, my source [code] of peace, joy and love, people will only see me, a broken link, not the radiance of my Creator.

Coding is a very time consuming process, especially for someone like me who is just learning. Each piece of the page can take hours, especially if a tiny piece of the coding is wrong. Even a missed period or a bracket can throw everything off. We may think we have our lives together, especially if we do all the "right" things, but if one piece is missing, Jesus, the code will not work.

As humans we are born with defective coding, thanks to sin. Jesus is the master coder and designer who wants so desperately to repair our broken links and defective coding so we can become more connected to Him. I thank God for His patience. Just like I had to have patience and spend hours working on my test, trying countless ways to make things work, He spends a lifetime on us. He even spent His own lifetime, coming to earth to bring us the best gift we could possibly receive, salvation and life everlasting.

. . .

I did finish. It wasn't perfect, but I was proud of myself for persevering and finishing as much as I could. The rain continued outside. Friday afternoon. A load off my shoulders, accomplishment at my fingertips and a light heart.


[Hannah]