This Week in Nerdvana

Greetings! I came across an interesting article here. It got me wondering...if I could send myself a message back in time, what would I say, and when would I do it? Also, how would I authenticate it? I suppose that right now I could come up with a code word that only I would know, like unicorn butt, or something equally bizarre that would make me think, "Yeah, only I would come up with that." And what would I say? The implications are pretty enormous.

I thought for a split second that I could go to 1987 and tell myself to avoid my ex-wife, but then I wouldn't have my awesome son. All my kids are fantastic, but I'm just saying, the first marriage didn't work out but we did produce an amazing young man who is now in college and wants to change the world. I'm proud of him, and wouldn't want to jeopardize his existence. Scratch that idea.

Then I figured I could go back to about 15 years ago, and advise myself to lay off the fatty foods. I'm not morbidly obese, but I do have too much around the midsection that I could stand to trim up. Although, with some discipline I could do it in the present without having to fire up the particle accelerator.

Maybe I could send myself a message to invest heavily in Steve Jobs' Apple futures, then now I'd have my own tropical island. I know money can't buy happiness, all I'm trying to do is prove it. That's really what I'm saying :-) But the truth is that when I think about the changes I would make, I don't think I would be better off.

Every scenario reminds me in some way of why I am blessed in my life. I'm married to an wonderful girl now. My amazing family is involved in church, and we make God the focus of our decisions and direction, so married life now is fantastic.

Sure, I'd like to be thinner, but I like myself alright, and much to the horror of beach-goers I don't have a problem wearing spandex shorts.

I am not wealthy by any one's definition, but I have a marvelous home that I am current with payments on, both of our cars are paid off, and this year I wiped a $2500 credit card debt completely clean. So, I am financially much better off than many people in the world.

I guess where I'm going with this is I have a lot to be thankful for and shouldn't go tampering with particle accelerators and String Theory to try to change it. God made me and you just like we are supposed to be, so we shouldn't try to change it out of self-loathing or anything like that. God is not in the habit of making mistakes.

That doesn't mean I wouldn't send George Lucas a message in 1995 begging him not to include Jar Jar Binks in Star Wars.

Here is some encouragement from God's Word. And as always, this is at least as much for me as it is for anyone else:
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your heart and minds through Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7 [NKJV]