Upon arriving to our first stop, I kind of felt like I needed to fast and pray, so I ask the Lord what I should be sacrificing for Him and for how long.
As we finishing get the low down of what our week would look like living in a rescue shelter, I clearly heard while I was repacking my things that I was supposed to leave my cell phone OFF and anything that needed “plugged in” and so I powered down my cell phone, and put it way for a week. It was not just a social media but a total disconnect and a total reconnect to people right in front of me.
I know that I have pretty good boundaries when it comes to using my phone and other tech items.
As we all know that we are walking in a generation that is losing out on the face to face because most of the time we have our face down staring into a rectangle screen. We all could come up with all the downsides the lack of tangible conversation. So what would it take for you or I to be in a room and not have a single screen as a source of entertainment. What does that even look like? How would that make you feel? I can imagine some of you are cringing at even the topic of no tech in the room.
I truly believe that once you are able to set up healthy boundaries with your tech of choice, you can find that you connect more with people on a personal level. When there is not a distraction of a tech in the room you are able to see the heart of the people around you. You go deeper in conversation and deeper in relationship.
The Lord used that time for me to focus my attention on him and what he has to say about me verses how many likes or hearts I might get when I post a selfie. I had more opportunity to listen authentically and really allow the Holy Spirit to lead. I was able to seek God for comfort over the comfort of family or friends back home. I was able to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to the purpose he has for me. I was able to pay attention to the details of peoples stories. I didn’t have to worry about my day to day. I had to put my trust in Gods plans every day, and if wanted more logistical information I had to get out of my comfort zone and walk up to my teammates and ask the what’s going on. Truly learning to rely on his timing for things and not my own planning for things.
So I challenge YOU the next time some ask you to hang out with them turn your cell phone to silent or OFF ask the other person to do the same and see what happens. Be authentic with your time and BE present with your time!
Let’s be the change we want to see in the world.
