Details

After an evening conversation with my wife about a webinar she is attending this week, the next morning I began observing my process of getting ready for the day. The focus of the webinar is regarding communication, and the detail to which we actually communicate. Here are three levels of communication that I came up with that illustrates why there is so much MIS-communication in the world.

Conversation I

Person A: What did you do this morning?

Person B: I got dressed and went to work.


Conversation II

Person A: What did you do this morning?

Person B: I got out of bed, took a shower, fixed my hair, brushed my teeth, dressed, and drove my car to the office.


Conversation III

Person A: What did you do this morning?

Person B: The alarm went off at 6:30 am CDT. I got out of bed, went to the bathroom where I showered. I used Dove soap, Suave Strawberry shampoo, and dried off with a white terrycloth towel. I put Bed Head Max Hold gel in my hair, brushed my teeth with Crest Whitening toothpaste and Oral B toothbrush, rinsed by mouth with water, and dried my face with a white terrycloth hand towel. I dried the water in my ears with a Q-Tip swab.

I then proceeded to my closet where I dressed (I'll skip a few details), when downstairs, gathered my necessary items for work, got in the car, cranked it, and drove down Chisholm Road, Cox Creek Parkway, Florence Blvd., and arrived at the office.


In all three of these examples Person A could truthfully say, "I talked to Person B about their morning." Depending on the need for information, Conversation I might be totally sufficient. However, if Person A was asked to recreate the morning routine of Person B, Conversation III would certainly be more beneficial.

What is the point of all of this? It illustrates how misleading communication can be when it is not qualified. Never stop short of fully understanding someone before saying, "I see." If it's important, the details matter.

Wander or Wonder - Israel in Egypt

If you know anything about the Old Testament you know that Israel spent time in the wilderness – 40 years in fact. Most also know that Israel spent time in Egypt. Do you know how long they were there? Four hundred and thirty years!

Israel’s time in Egypt started on purpose. You may know the story. Joseph had been sold into slavery by his brothers. He wound up in Egypt and became the second in command to Pharaoh himself. God gave him a vision about a coming famine. The famine is what brought Isaac (who’s name was changed to Israel) to Egypt. The family was reunited with Joseph and they stayed there.

However, their journey to paradise soon turned into forced servitude. After Israel (Isaac) died and Joseph died and the Pharaoh was gone that knew Joseph, the new leadership of Egypt felt threatened by Israel’s presence and forced them into slavery. In essence they entered their first wilderness experience. It is not known exactly how much of the four hundred and thirty years were spent in slavery, but it was a long time.

Long enough that most Israelites did not even see it as wilderness. They forgot about Jehovah. They forgot about the promise made to Abraham. They forgot that they did not belong in Egypt. They came to accept the wilderness as normal; separated from everything they were supposed to possess.

The reason I call this a wilderness is because Israel lost their wonder and began to wander. In simple terms, I believe that defines the difference between a journey and roaming in the wilderness: you lose your wonder and begin to wander. Stay focused while you travel through life. Keep your wonder!