When the Computer Crashes…

Al was working on the computer one evening, trying to access some financial records  when in a blink of an eye our digital world came to an abrupt halt. Somehow, he pressed a key or a combination of keys that caused the computer to “crash.”

 Now this had never happened to either of us before, so it didn’t occur to us that the computer had crashed. We wondered why the desk top looked so different. Instead of several programs being displayed on the screen, there was only one—the trash can! Unfortunately, it was empty.

A search of the programs that had been downloaded into the computer over the span of several years was fruitless. The email program we used, including the address book that contained hundreds of email addresses, was gone. Along with the email went files of pictures and documents that were irreplaceable.

It was quite a shock. Where did everything go? And what should we do now? We both needed a lifeline…something to hang onto when the ship is going through turbulent waters!

There were three lifelines that offered hope. The first was through my laptop computer. It wasn’t up to date with new email addresses, the completed versions of my weekly writings or the documents Al had been working on. But it did contain much helpful information. Good thing we had it!

The second source of hope was that Al had stored much of the information on his computer on an external hard drive. But as it turned out, the last time he had done a backup was August, 2022. Although helpful, the information in the external hard drive would also be incomplete.

The third thing on which we both had relied heavily in the past was a service package purchased along with our desktop and laptop computers several years ago. It included free consultation and service whenever a problem came up and had proven to be invaluable.

When Al contacted the computer technician and explained the problem, the technician was able to access his computer and take control remotely. He too tried to retrieve the lost files, but could not find anything. Not good news. So, the long process began of transferring the information first from the laptop computer to the external hard drive.

Al worked with the technician for over two hours until it was time for the computer expert to go off duty. He promised Al that the transferring would continue through the night and gave him instructions to call back in the morning. At that time another technician would take over and set up the process of transferring the information from the external hard drive into the main computer. It sounded complicated!

As it turned out, when the new person took over the next morning, he reported that all of the information had successfully been put back into the desktop and that the whole process was finished! Now that was an unexpected blessing.

The technician helped set up a new home page to match the one on the laptop, just the way we wanted it. Al also asked him to check that the original programs and files were intact. They were!

 We were under the assumption that there would be a lot of catching up to do, due to several months worth of data missing in the files. But as we both began to work on the computer, nothing seemed to be missing. Everything was just as it was before the crash. How could that be?

It is still a mystery, especially to folks like ourselves who really don’t have any idea how computers work! But we are both very grateful and are now being careful to back up our information regularly onto the external hard drive.

At some point in our lives, we are all in need of a lifeline… something or someone to give us hope in the midst of a tough situation. Jesus is beside us with His hand extended, offering mercy, grace and the courage to start again.  We can call upon Him for wisdom and guidance, knowing that He hears us when we call.

 “This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.” Psalm 34: 6-8 NIV