When one of our church computers died, we bought a digital audio recorder to record the sermons so we could put them on our website.  It should be easy, right?  After all, I use one for my podcast.  It’s just plug and play.

Not exactly.

First, there were a lot more buttons and settings on this one.  You can plug two microphones in, or get the sound from the sound board by plugging it in.  And it wasn’t just the options on the unit itself.  We had options as to how we could set the sound board too.

And the User Manual was 188 pages.  All online.

Some of it was super easy.  We could see where the plug went in.  The pre-set settings weren’t that complicated.  We probably looked at the directions once to make sure we were doing what we intended.  We got this.

And then we got to the hard stuff.  The diagram showed all these numbers, each of which was a setting for something we didn’t understand.  It seemed a bit overwhelming.  But once we really looked and chose an option, it wasn’t as bad as we thought.

Sure, the diagram looked complicated, but it was mostly to explain all the options.  Once we picked one, there weren’t that many settings for our own choice.  So, even though we initially panicked, once we really dug into it we realized it wasn’t as bad as we thought.

Has that ever happened to you?  You look at something and think, “There’s no way I can do this.”  And then it turns out you can.  When you take it one step at a time.  Only focus on what’s immediately in front of you instead of all of it.  When it’s only one step, that step doesn’t seem so overwhelming, does it?

Now we’re breathing a sigh of relief.

We record the first service.  “Whew.  There’s actually a file at the end.”  Now we’re listening to it.  And it sounds distorted. Not grossly distorted, but distorted nonetheless.  Definitely noticeable.  We didn’t buy a brand new piece of equipment to have that.

Now we’re pouring through the user guide to look at troubleshooting help.  It’s less than 1 page, and has simple stuff like “Turn the unit off and back on.”  Like DUH.  “Make sure pre-set is set to the correct setting.”  Again with the DUH.  No help there.

We try about 8 different setting changes:

• volume on the recording unit
• volume on the board in different places
• swapping out the cable in case it’s got a short
• changing the plug location on the board
• and much, much more

We probably test for more than an hour, making silly recordings just to lighten the moment.  Nothing works.

So we give up.  The user guide’s no help, and the trial-and-error method isn’t working either.  There’s one more option: get a lifeline from the Sound System guys.  Email them and ask for help.

Their first response indicates to me that maybe they didn’t read the entire email because they were in a hurry.  (Ever done that yourself?  It’s amazing how often that happens.  I know I do it too.  And get embarrassed when I ask a question that was already answered.)

I tell them that yes, I’ve already tried that thing.  What other ideas do they have?  Then they casually mention, “You have to turn this switch on the top of the unit to ‘line’.  If it says anything else, it could cause that distortion.”

Really?  That switch doesn’t appear to have anything to do with this problem.  We looked at it while trouble-shooting, and the instructions didn’t give any clue it was related.

NOTE:  Another lesson to learn if you’re in business.  Read your emails carefully and write high-quality user instructions.  You might make a customer for life.

Anyway, I get to church, set that switch to line, and run a test.  Well, actually several tests.  Because when we change this setting, now we have to change others too.  We have to turn the volume up quite a bit in a few places.

Now it sounds crystal clear.  There’s no distortion or extra noise.  You could hear a pin drop.

All it took was that one switch.  Suddenly everything became clear.  We switched the input, and there was no longer any distortion.

Life can be like this too.  Sometimes it feels super-easy. Sometimes impossible.  There isn’t a great user manual.  And it’s complicated.  When we focus on one thing at a time, we feel less overwhelmed than when we look at the whole thing at once.

Even more troublesome is the noise we often hear.  How distorted our mission or purpose can become.  The noise drowns out our own voice and the voice of God.  It takes every ounce of energy to hear the message, and some of it is garbled beyond recognition.

And all it takes is one switch to make the sound crystal clear.  Maybe that switch is a decision you make to listen only to certain voices.  To turn off media.  Maybe it’s praying or meditating and practicing the discipline of deep listening.  Maybe it’s setting boundaries that others can’t cross.

Whatever it is, you’ve got that switch.  The one that when turned to the right setting helps you hear.  And it sounds beautiful.

What’s that switch for you?  What happens when you activate it?  How does it make you feel?  What might you do if you activated the switch more often?  Leave a comment.