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ctrl-z for life
August 16, 2006
When working in Photoshop (and many other computer applications) if one makes a mistake, even an egregious one, there’s a quick and easy way to go back. My son Ryan taught me this years ago. Just hold your finger on the ctrl button on the bottom of your keyboard, then, while holding it, also press the letter z. Your work will go back to the way it was before the change, whatever it was. Imagine. You’ve just finished a 15-page manuscript and somehow erased it accidentally. No problem. Ctrl-z. You clone a huge black spot in someone’s face? Relax. Ctrl-z. I love Ctrl-z.   So much so, that I find myself longing for it in many other areas of life.  Working on a pastel portrait the other day, I liked the face. It looked like the subject. All that was left now to do was to finish the surroundings. At this point, I always tell myself to leave the face ALONE. The smallest change can make it lose some of its resemblance, and it could take hours to fix it. Well, there was this spot in the eye that I just had to fix...Oops. Where’s the ctrl-z on this palette?  Wait. This is real life. There is none. An hour later, we’re back to square one. (Thankfully only an hour.)

Or how about those things you said that you really, really, really wish you hadn’t said?
Ron was talking to someone not long ago and an observation crossed his mind that he almost mentioned to that someone about them. But he held his tongue. Last night he said that he was so glad that he was able to do so, because though the observation was still true, other observations tempered it, and he would have surely regretted having said it. He noticed that there have been many, many times in life that this has happened. He feels so grateful for the check in the spirit that the Holy Spirit gives in those times. Not that he’s never gotten himself in trouble with his mouth, but for the most part, he feels blessed with the gift of listening before speaking.   There is no ctrl-z in this area of life, either.

Or say a doctor tells you to try this new drug. You jump in headlong. Next thing you know, you’re taking drugs for the side effects, are considering surgery, etc. This has happened to an acquaintance of ours with similar pain to Ron’s in the arms (and also in the hips). Ron has exercised much more caution with such things, knowing that there is no ctrl-z in our health management. His arthritis pills stayed lonely on a shelf, unused, until one day they were blamed in heart-related deaths. Further, we’re learning through much research and massage therapy that though there is some arthritis, the pain is possibly due to muscle & tendon problems and not due to the arthritis after all. What a relief to not have those regrets!
You know, it occurs to me: we do have a ctrl-z button, but we must learn to press it before the fact. It's the Holy Spirit. It’s His guidance and warning that blesses us, and protects us from the destroyer (through our own verbal, medical and financial mistakes.)   A word of thanks to the Holy Spirit for His invaluable guidance through life.   Now if He can just provide a nice gaussian blur...