October Favorite Things: Connection

Spoiler alert...this isn't going to be a normal "Favorite Things" post. Something happened today that I wanted to share with you about. 

My phone took an unexpected swim early this morning. And in hope of recovery, it has been sitting in a jar full of rice for the better part of the day.  The good news is that it appears to be mostly functional.  Siri does come on at random times, which is hilarious and frustrating at the same time.  I tried to turn her off, but the voice command kept taking over and making random phone calls.(I apologize in advance if you get a random phone call from me...)


The interesting thing to me about the whole scenario, though, was how it made me feel.  I like to feel connected.  And with my smart phone, I am sometimes overly connected.  I have to admit that after I got over the shock of dropping my phone in water I suddenly felt very disconnected.  I couldn't make a phone call.  I couldn't send a text.  I would actually have to get on the iPad or computer to check email and send messages since I didn't have a working phone.

At this point, as it was still early in the morning, I sat down to do my IF:Equip bible study.  Usually, I pull up the email on my phone, find the text for that day, read it in my bible, and then go back and follow up with the video and read some of the comments.  Instead, I just started reading my bible.  No phone.  No electronics. No distractions.  It was just me, my Bible, and God.  And it was REFRESHING.  As the day continued on, with my phone sitting in rice, I briefly checked email on the iPad and moved on with my day. I felt more present with my boys. More CONNECTED.

 I read this article the other day about how nebulous our phones can be and how it might be affecting our kids. (I recommend you read the article.) Today, my boys knew I wasn't on my phone.  They knew when I checked email or when I requested a book from the library.  They knew when I was sending their dad a message via Facebook so he would know where we would be...just in case.

 I made it through the day just fine without my phone and have come away from today with a renewed PERSPECTIVE.  Connection is about relationship.  Sometimes amazing tools like smart phones help build relationships, and sometimes they hurt relationships and push people away. My hope today is that we will all seek to have life-giving connections with others, whether it happens face to face or through an online venue!