Googling Freshmen

What did we do before google? Seriously. What were our options? I had an entire set of Encyclopedia Britannica's in my bedroom and although they came in handy when I was playing "school" and wanted to know how to identify poison ivy or press flowers for my magic potions, that bookshelf was only the tip of the iceberg when compared to google. Today, I google everything. I think most of us do. It's why "google it" became a well-known expression and "google" became a verb. I'm somewhat embarrassed of some of the questions I've typed into google. It's always been a fear that some computer hacking nerd will one day get his grimy little paws on my computer and figure out how to see everything I've googled. Words I should know how to spell, facts I should know, questions no one over the age of 13 should ever have to ask. That's what he'd find. (However, I don't feel so dumb when I type "how to" into google and discover lots of people are just as ignorant as I am.)

I won't tell you some of the more embarrassing "how to" google entries but I will tell you about one. "How to make popcorn." While living in Mozambique, Lisa and I were babysitting for our Swedish friends and both had only ever used microwave popcorn or those old-school popcorn machines. The kids asked for popcorn but all we found were popcorn kernels. We looked at each other, shrugged our shoulders, and headed to google. The popcorn turned out great and we thought our secret ignorance would stay between us. But then their dad, Par "the detective," searched the Internet history (possibly because he has a 13 year old son) and discovered our google search. Then he told his brother-in-law, my neighbor Henrik, who teased us mercilessly about it.

I share that story because I don't seem like the only guilty, naive party. Lisa was with me. And Lisa is one of the smartest people I know. Literally. She graduated from Princeton and is currently getting a double-masters from the Kennedy School and MIT at the same time. If you're like me, "the Kennedy School" doesn't impress because you've never heard of it. It's a graduate program at Harvard. See. She's super smart. However, she's also super silly. See picture from this summer:

Even super smart Lisa uses google. My inquisitive students sometimes ask bizarre questions like, "Is there a bird called a carrion crow?" and "What are the badlands?" and "Which author predicted we'd one day power everything with steam?" My answer is always, "Good question. Let's go google it."

I wonder, however, if google is making us smarter or stupider. Is stupider even in a word? No. It's not. I googled it. Google is certainly settling a lot of bets and filling us with fast information and don't get me wrong, I LOVE googling crap. But I fear it may be doing us a disservice as well. It's eliminating the fact-finding process. We don't have to search and seek for answers. Our fingers fly over the key board and as long as we've got a good connection, the answers magically appear in seconds.

I wish life was like that. But then again, I don't. Because there is something rewarding about the process of searching for answers.

I teach freshmen. I LOVE these kids. The world is full of hope and optimism and opportunity for them. There is no cynicism or jaded attitudes. They've been sheltered and don't even realize their ignorance. They are full of innocence and energy and curiosity. However, they are also full of farting jokes, giggles, and LOTS of stupid questions. Really stupid questions. Case in point: the homework is ALWAYS written on the homework board. I ALWAYS explain it at the beginning of class. But about 4 times a week, some eager beaver won't wait for the bell to ring to start class and will ask, "Miss Hardeman, do we have homework?"

If it's early and I didn't have breakfast, my tone isn't always sweet. These are my typical responses:

"I'm not answering that."

"You'll find out."

"Figure it out."

"Be a problem-solver."

Or I just pretend I didn't hear them. Like I pretended I didn't hear the poor boy who let loose a squeaker in class which vibrated on his chair. Those around him erupted into giggles but I kept my cool and kept reading aloud, all the while, dying inside. But I've mastered the art of pretending I didn't hear.

Sometimes when they ask me a dumb question, I'll try hard not to roll my eyes. But then I'll tell them to ask a friend or look at the board where I've written the answer. I'm doing them a disservice if I answer every question because they aren't thinking for themselves. I want them to be problem-solvers and this means I sometimes must refuse to answer them so they will grow.

I wonder if God doesn't see us in a similar fashion. We, like freshman, are silly, giggling humans, naive to so much around us. We can't even fathom all of our ignorance. And we ask lots of questions of God. Really stupid questions. Sometimes He answers, but often He doesn't right away. I don't think God rolls His eyes or pretends He didn't hear the question, but I wonder if His lack of response is actually Him saying, "you'll find out," or "figure it out." I wonder if it's because He wants us to search for the answers. I wonder if He just shakes His head at our silly questions and points to His word where the answers are clearly written. I wonder if He points us to others who know the answers already.

There is certainly more meaning in the answer if I've had to search for it. It is so much more rewarding to pose the question and then hunt for the answer and find it, even years later. And I find that I'm changed in the process. I'm becoming a "problem-solver."

In the past two years, I've have been writing down my questions when I read the Bible. And I have a lot of them. Sometimes the answer is simple and is clearly stated in the study section of my Bible. Sometimes I have to google the question but sometimes even google doesn't have the answer. So then I pray. Sometimes I've received the answer days later; sometimes it takes weeks or months or even years.

"God, why did you allow this?"

Years later the answers often are quite clear. "This happened so this could happen..." He knows our past and our futures and I trust that He allows trials and tribulations for reasons I sometimes cannot understand at the moment. I love looking back and seeing how He didn't answer me at the time and how because of His lack of response, I had to search.

And when I didn't find the answer right away, my faith grew. It grew in these times of questioning because "..faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1) I am sure that the hope I've placed in God and His promises will not be for naught. I am certain that He has the answers to my questions, even when He won't just give them to me.

Some answers I'm still waiting on. But I haven't forgotten the questions and I continue to seek. And although I'd often prefer God just spit the answers out, I'm glad He hasn't. I'm glad for the process.

Okay, one more confession but I will offer no explanation. My most recent google search was as follows: "how to dance at a club." Laugh it up people but it turned out to be a very popular search.

Now it's your turn. What is the last thing you googled? Or, if you really want to make my day, what's something you've googled that you should probably know already?