CHERYL'S CHRISTIAN CROSSROAD

A Clean Slate

Are you one of those people who never delete a text or are you like me, you delete every text after reading it?

I’ve asked my family, more times than I can count, to resend me the information they’d previously texted me because I’d deleted it without retaining all the information I needed from said text. What was that address again? Was I supposed to meet them at 12:00 or 12:30?

“Stop deleting your texts,” I am often chastised, but in the most loving way of course.  It’s a running joke how I ALWAYS delete my text.  I am not alone in that need to keep my phone ridded of already read text.  My sister has the same habit.  I can’t count the times I’ve sent her a text and her delayed response leaves me wondering what her eventual response means because by the time I receive it, I don’t even remember what I’d asked her in the first place.  Upon telling her this, she normally responds with a laughing emoji, along with the words, “I don’t remember either, I already deleted the text.”  And then I of course would respond with several laughing emoji’s because neither of us remember what it is we’re supposed to remember because we’ve both deleted our text. 

Now my husband on the other hand, NEVER erases his text.  His reason for not doing so is simple enough, he often has to go back through old text messages to find an address or phone number or an important message regarding his job.  His job and cell phone go hand and hand, he really needs to keep important conversations via text for further review in the future.  So I guess to avoid embarrassing work related mishaps, he keeps his texts.  Of course when he needs to draw back on a particular text, I watch as he scans through all those countless text trying to find the right one.

“When did I send that”, I might hear him say and sometimes he’d find the text he was looking for and other times he wouldn’t.  

I know why my husband keeps all of his text, but why do I delete mine?  In all honesty, the habit started when I had an old flip phone that froze up (if that’s the correct terminology).  I couldn’t call anyone, I couldn’t text anyone, the screen was frozen in time and no turning it on and off or removing and replacing the battery would change the fact that my phone was useless to me. 

A trip to the local cellular company revealed that I had too much stored information on the phone and it was suggested to me that I delete some of the stuff off my phone.  The only word I retained was “delete” and so delete I did.  That is where my habit started, plus I simply do not like clutter of any kind and that includes any collection of old text.  To me it’s like reading a book that I’ve already read and unless it’s a really good book, I have no plan of rereading it.     

Which brings me to those who keep text to hoard over someone’s head.  At least that’s what it feels like to me whenever I am on the receiving end of a screenshot of a text I may have sent months prior.  Thinking of seeing my husband scan through hundreds of text, I always imagine just how long it took that person to go back through months of texts just to tell me that I was wrong and that they were right.  It would have been much simpler, not to mention much kinder, to call me, to hear the apology in my voice for a sincere miscommunication. 

Sometimes however, it isn’t a screenshot, it’s just a person telling me that they have the text and they will show it to me and of course I have no idea because I’ve deleted my text and unless they send me a screen shot, I have to take their word for it because that infamous text doesn’t always materialize. 

Sadly, it really doesn’t matter because text can so easily be misinterpreted. Who hasn’t received that type of text that can border on insulting when in actuality the sender was trying to be humorous, at least that’s what the sender would like you to think with the LOL or head slapping emoji. 

The opportunity to see the real emotion in someone’s face or hear the emotion in their voice to realize whether or not it is genuine has been lost.  I have learned too well that instead of texting someone about a problem, the importance is in talking face to face through the problem.  There isn’t an emoji out there that can replace the emotions on someone’s face and I will be the first to say that when someone sends me a screenshot of one of my text, if only to prove that they are right and I am wrong, it isn’t a laughing face emoji that I am thinking of, and it takes every ounce of Christian in me to not send the one I’d like to send. 

Now I have tried to see every angle of deleting or keeping text.  Yes, I confess, I myself have been lured to screenshot someone’s text knowing that in the future I could possibly use it against them, but then a very strong scolding from God and the Holy Spirit reminds me why I need to delete the text or screenshot I’ve taken.  Wrong is wrong and happily anticipating the moment to point out someone’s wrong is simply put, WRONG. 

There are so many reasons why people choose to delete or to not delete their text, but as Christians we need to remember, there is only one reason that matters and that is the right one and intentionally holding someone’s wrongs against them is definitely not of God because I am pretty sure He’s real big on forgiveness.  Can I get an Amen to that (confetti and clapping hand emoji’s go here).

God doesn’t hold a record of our past, He doesn’t take a screen shot or scroll back through conversations from months prior to prove a point, He simply forgives and so for whatever reason you keep your text, ask yourself before you take that screenshot whether or not you are doing it for the right reasons.  To forgive someone’s words is Biblical.  I know, I’ve looked it up and if you’re not sure, maybe you should look it up for yourself and just in case you fear forgetting it, take a picture of it with your phone and whatever you do, DON’T DELETE IT!!!

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