Fresh Start Devotionals

Change The older I get, the more resistant to change I am. The other day I was saying to Susan, “I wish there was a drive-in theater around here so we could go to a movie.” Never mind the fact that now we can see whatever movie we want by going to an indoor theater or renting one, both of which we never get around to doing. I wanted to return to the “good ol’ days” and see a movie the way we did when we were first married. Change, even change for the better, can be difficult to accept. For instance, the other day I read that some members of the deaf community are slow to accept the introduction of cochlear implants—a devise that helps many deaf children hear. This devise, according to Jack Wheeler, the CEO of the Deafness research foundation, “could conquer newborn deafness in America.” At first glance, this news is great news! Deaf children will be able to hear. But not to some of the leaders in the deaf community who call the use of the implant “cultural genocide” and even “child abuse.” Why is their response so harsh? Curing newborn deafness threatens the deaf culture—a mixture of history, art, and language. Some in the deaf community believe deafness is a gift, not a problem and they don’t want a cure. A well-meaning parent very well could keep their deaf child from ever hearing the sounds of the wind rustling through the trees or the sounds of the great hymns of the faith. Too bad that some people are so threatened by the thought of change that they can’t enjoy the benefits of the change once it happens. By the way, do any of you know where I can find a dinner theater? I wouldn’t mind taking Susan out to one of those some time soon. Jim L. Wilson, Fresh Start Devotionals (Fresno, CA: Willow City Press, 2009).