Last week, I migrated my little firm’s website and Domain Name Server to a new hosting platform.
And with that, I’ve just proven I can write a sentence about which my reading comprehension tends to hover around 10%.
Which is to say: DNS and HTML and MX Servers – and all their confusing cousins in the website hosting world – remain rather foreign concepts to me. They involve a whole ‘nother language, about which I have only a modicum of interest in learning.
Out with the old…
I took the plunge essentially because I’m a skinflint. A couple of months ago, my old hosting platform offered to upgrade their service – to include an SSL certificate – for a not-inconsiderable annual fee. I’d never heard of SSL certificates prior to that point, but a quick info search convinced me SSLs are a pretty important part of an online web presence these days.
To me, it begged the question: If SSL certificates are necessary, then why aren’t they included in the “base” hosting package? And I discovered that they are, with many providers – just not the outfit of which I’d been a loyal customer for 20+ years.
So I turned my annoyance into action…and waded into what became a weeks-long process of content development and technical transfer – truly a trial-by-fire for a guy who’d much rather be playing MarbleWorks with his grandkids.
Suffice it to say, there were a few low spots along the way. I didn’t descend into despair, exactly. But on more than one occasion, I couldn’t see a clear path forward either. And surprisingly, that’s where “community” kicked in.
I wasn’t even aware that I’d joined a community when I chose my new hosting platform. But I’m grateful that I did. There was a noticeable difference in the way the tech support people at the new place treated me compared to the old. I found encouragement and gratitude there – a far cry from the mere tolerance I’d grown accustomed to, throughout my 20-year association with the previous provider.
It’s pretty amazing, what a little encouragement can do. My false starts didn’t turn into dead ends…and by Friday morning, I’d managed to complete the DNS transfer successfully, as well as launch a modest new website for my firm.
…in with the new.
I found an echo of this experience in the gospel story we hear at Mass this week. It’s one of my favorites – recounting the tale of the blind beggar Bartimaeus, whose encounters of community run the gamut…from negative…
[M]any rebuked [Bartimaeus], telling him to be silent. But he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me.”
…to positive:
[T]hey called the blind man, saying to him, “Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.”
The real power comes from Jesus, of course. It is He who cures the man’s blindness. But one thing I love about this story is how it highlights the essential role that community plays in the experience of salvation. For far too long, I was blind to that reality in my life.
I was blind, but now I see.
Imagine that: Amazing grace can be ushered in by an encouraging community…and get you right back to playing MarbleWorks with your grandkids!
Let us pause now…to recall that we are in the presence of the Holy & Merciful One.
IHS
Speaking of websites: My wife Gerri and daughter Ellen recently launched theirs — to promote the beauty their artworks add to our little corner of the world. Click the button to check it out!
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