Words from WW Blog

      “Now if we died to Christ, we believe we will also live with him…For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.” (Romans 6:8, 14)

Scrolling is this thing these days. People scroll through their phones to find relevance, meaning, and something that raises eyebrows. 

Driving my two oldest grandkids around could be described as a conversation punctuated with bouts of scrolling. I’ll be having a conversation with one of them about the importance of being grounded in the faith, and suddenly, a seizure of scrolling invades our space. 

Scrolling to find out which of their friends has posted a selfie that does not have any beneficial value to society as a whole or any individual purpose. Scrolling as a new form of twitching. Scrolling as a way to avoid having a mundane moment. Scrolling is the younger generation’s version of daydreaming— a spontaneous moment of withdrawal. Be a senior citizen among three young scrollers, and you may begin to question your value.

Of course, I realize that a few readers of this blog scrolled down to it! The “whiner” about scrolling isn’t helping his case. I’m also guilty of scrolling down the programming guide on TV to see what’s on. If I hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have found out about the recent Outhouse Sledding Championships on ESPN. (Yes, that’s a real event!)

Truth be known, I’ve encountered scrolling in another way, a more humbling way. I’m now having to do a lot of “age-scrolling.” That is, I’m filling in information on my cell phone or laptop for a new physician, specialist, driver’s license renewal, insurance information, school certification renewal, workshop sign-up…need I go on! And when I’m asked my age, I have to scroll down…and down…and down. The longer I scroll down, the closer to the deathly bottom I get. The year 2000 disappears from the screen as I continue to go down. My first child’s birth year, 1981, rises past me, and there goes my high school graduation, 1972) and I’m still sinking deeper. Scrolling down is a way of putting me in my place— close to the end of the road— and reminding me of the fact that most people are above me…scrolling-wise.

My scrolls are clarifications of my mortality. It’s the harsh truth of our deteriorating bodies. My prescription bottles, aching hips, and suspect hearing are also teammates of the downward scrolling to my demise.

I take comfort in the hope of Romans 6, where Paul says, “Now if we died to Christ, we believe we will also live with him…For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.” (Romans 6:8,14)

When one of my students or athletes…or even one of my granddaughters reminds me of how old I am, I am now prone to reply, “Yes, only by the grace of God am I still scrolling down.” Confusion surfaces on their faces. 

I just smile. 

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This entry was posted on May 3, 2026 at 1:07 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.

Tags: Jesus, Life, mental-health, social media, writing

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