I live with a couple Gamers. I have lived with one of them for almost 50 years. One might interject here. “Oh sure, there weren’t games 50 years ago.” to which I response. Ever hear of pinball? fooz ball? Yes, those are a bit more tactile but games none the less. But, I digress (haha I’ve been waiting to work that into a sentence)
Back to my point. I live with a couple Gamers.
Since the onset of gaming consoles i.e. Atari and onward to Sega, XBox, Playstions… computers Tandy, IBM, Toshiba… You get it. oh. DS and 3DS has to be mentioned.
I guess I (we) have raised Gamers also. One now lives with his wife and family. And yes He is still a Gamer. He has even built a few.
Last year, in my defense. I purchased a used ps4 off of ebay. It is not the first gaming system I have laid claim to. I’ve had a couple DS units with Dogz and gardening games on them. Desktops and Laptops with Dogz on them. It hasn’t been until recently that I actually claimed the title of Gamer.
I started, with my hubbies help, we played through the Tomb Raider games. I am not claiming to be good. Video games infuriate me. But it has become a pass time for me. I say now. “if you can’t beat ’em. join ’em.” in reference to my housemates. And so I have.
It is a pass time. I won’t say it is a good one but it is one.
One thing it has done for me. It has given me some insight.
I started playing an online version of GTA 5. That’s Grand Theft Auto 5. It is not a good game. It should not be played by anyone under 18 for sure. One of my housemates plays it and has made several friends online that play the game with him. And on occasion us.They are a benevolent group of players that help each other with missions for in game monies and credits. It is an extensive world with a lot of missions, business, etc. that one can run. You basically can play the game online to your flavor.
After learning a bit of the ins and outs, I use one of my characters (you can create two) as a gun runner, a auto shop owner/mechanic, and a bike shop owner/mechanic. I guess the hook for me was the car aspect. There are a myriad of cars one can have in their fleet.
It is a violent game. And I try to play it not so violently. Driving has been my focus as one needs to drive everywhere in this online world..
We play in the “invite only” or “friends only” sessions. If one accidentally gets into an “open session” it can get totally “dog eat dog”
For the past few months I have been playing a self created mission on this online gaming platform. My character, an old hag of a female (age appropriate in my opinion), I dress her up in white on Sundays and then I have her drive to one of the in game churches. Yes, there are churches in the game. So far I have found six. Anyway. On Sunday from 1 p.m. real time to 1:30p.m. I have her drive one of her hearses to one of these churches. I alternate to a different church every Sunday. Then I have her stand on the front steps by the front door. None of the church can be entered but standing in front is the point I want. I make sure we are in an “open session” On purpose. I have my character stay on the steps of the church and wait for other gamer’s characters come to see what’s up. Most gamers in an “open session” are busy moving around the in game city, violently killing and stealing other gamer’s items. Crews even run in packs. Did I mention that this is a violent game?
Back to my character. She stays on the steps of the church. When another player comes to the church, to see this stationary character, they hover at a distance to see what this character is doing. Trying to see if it is an easy target.
They see a women in white standing at the front door of the church. She doesn’t have a weapon. She is passive. When they approach she does not show any aggression. If they choose to kill her (most do) she does not defend herself. If they kill her, when she re-spawns she does not retaliate.
What’s my point? It is just a little seed. Just a rare seed in a violent gaming world. Will it get planted? I am just broadcasting a few seeds. Will they grow? even a tiny seed can grow if it find a bit of soil. Will I ever know? Probably not. But that’s not my need. I just have a few of these rare seeds that I think I’ve been given to plant. So I will.
After seeing that some gamers have in game made crews to help each other with different missions. I decided to make a crew for my main character. This Crew is called “Eternal Rest Keepers” RockStar the game creators let players create these crews and even let them name them what they want and then let the crew creator choose a call sign. G suggested J316 for my crew’s call sign. RockStar lets one make a personal license plate for their cars also. I created HVN BND and put it on the hearse my character drives. Why a hearse? one may ask. Hoping some may consider their true mortality? Ya, that’s it.
Silly? maybe. Detailed? i hope enough, trying to leave clues. Tiny rare seeds? I hope so.
Faith of A Little Seed
All it takes is a little bit of water and sunshine
To make a big tree grow
And every tree was a little bitty seed at one time
It just takes time, you know
And patiently they lay in hope
And God provides the rest
All we really need
Is the faith of a little seed
I never, ever saw a bird go hungry
Singing in the breeze
And the flowers, never was a lady on Sunday
Prettier than these
And patiently they lay in hope
And God provides the rest
All we really need
Is the faith of a little seed
Though I’m sown in rocky places
There I will abide
Taking root in my Lord Jesus
Knowing He’ll provide
The faith of a little seed
The faith of a little seed
The faith of a little seed
Big Tent Revival
