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CopticCenter.com, as you may have realized, was launched not too long ago and is still in its infancy. The idea is to provide Copts, Christians, and all interested people alike with a taste of Coptic life. At the same time, I would really like to see this site turn into a hub for Copts all over the world.
I don't know how close or how far I am from reaching my goal, but if you're reading this then the first step has finally been taken, thank God.
As you'll notice from the navigation bar on top, this site is intended to have several sections: a knowledge section, a youth section, a multimedia section, an interaction center, a business section and a shop. When I first started designing CopticCenter.com (from now on I'll use the short form CC) years ago, I tried doing everything at once and hoped to be able to launch everything at once. Although I am an experienced web developer, that turned out to be a very very bad idea, since I always felt overwhelmed with the amount of work that needed to be done in order to accomplish that. As a result I wasted years and finally I gave up.
I gave up but the thought of a multipurpose Coptic website never left my thoughts. It's not that I didn't want it to leave my thoughts -- if it had, it would've freed up a lot of my time and energy -- but I was bound to this project. If you keep on reading you'll find out why and in what way. Besides, the truth is, I didn't want to give up. I started this project when I was fairly young (think 13) and by now, our Church and its spirit had grown in me, and I had grown up with the constant thought of this website. I figured that the combination could only be helpful.
And so, nearly a year after giving up, I gathered the courage to face my old friend the computer, and started anew. This time there was a different plan. Instead of trying to do everything at once, like the idiot that I was (FYI: the word idiot comes from the Greek word "Idiotes" which means "untrained person" or "person lacking in knowledge" and is used five times in the original Greek Bible; I can't deny that both these descriptions fit me well), I had decided to focus on a single section at a time, finish that section, make it public, and then start on the next. Surprisingly I didn't feel so overwhelmed anymore.
There was another difference. Up until this time, I had asked for God's help actively, but passively. I had always felt like it was my project and my goal. I'm not sure what exactly led me to change the way I thought of it all, but now the personal satisfaction aspect was gone. I was blessed to meet and have a conversation with a certain priest (the keeners among you would know him, but I can't say his name) who pointed out that this project was just another form of service towards our beloved church. A friend of mine, whom I consider a brother rather than a friend, (again, many of you would know him, believe it or not, but I can't say his name) then kept reminding me and asserting that this was a service and hence, I was obligated to keep at it and overcome my lazyness for its sake.
Well that sure changed things. Since it was a service, all I had to do was put in my time and effort and let God do the directing and lead the way. And what do you know, here we are. Come to think of it, there's not much done yet. The storefront represents a fraction of what this site is supposed to be. But hey, it's better than the nothing I had previously.
This is starting to sound like a confessional. If you're not bored yet and would like to read the rest, click here.
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