Last autumn I decided I must do something with all the home videos of the family that I had taken over the years. I had a drawer full of videotapes, which I could show to our children and their families when they were with us, but they could not enjoy them on their own, because I had them.
So having inherited some money from my mother, I decided to splash out and buy a new Apple Mac computer and the programmes necessary to edit my videos and burn them to DVD’s. So it was off to the Apple Store in Bristol to buy a 24” Imac computer and Final Cut programme. During the buying process, I discovered that Apple have a One to One training programme for all their customers, if you add £79 the purchase price of the computer. I discovered that this modest figure entitled me to one hour personal training each week for a year. It was not until a few weeks had passed that I realised that his training was vital, learning Final Cut was not easy and each week I attended my training lesson with a list of questions.
Through this I discovered something else – I was enjoying the challenge to acquire a new skill and to become proficient in film editing, but I was having to take up the role of being a student who was willing to be taught. Everything I learned I wrote down in my notebook, went home and practised, and then transferred my scribbles to a word document on the computer and am building my own manual of how to do all that I have learned.
Then we decided to develop our own website, and I found myself having to learn another set of skills. The website has been designed by Pete Worthington and his team at Worthers, and the email to their support line has been red hot as I have battled with all the challenges.
It is so easy to bury ones head in the sand and not learn anything new or acquire new skills. It is a humbling experience to have to keep asking others to help when in a jam. It means receiving correction and being able to admit failure.
This has set me thinking – Can I learn new things? Can I accept instruction? and Can I receive a rebuke?
Proverbs 9:8-9 says, “Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man and he will love you. Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning.”
