Perhaps this is unique to America. Not sure, I'm not much of a world traveler. But the ridiculous pace of life in the U.S.A. can be absolutely exhausting. Truly - how and why do we do life this way?
Everyone is in a hurry and ridiculously connected to all manner of things - except people it seems. A line at the grocery store with more than one person in front of us inspires a sigh or a huff. A stoplight means 30 vital seconds to check Facebook, Twitter, email, or a play on Words with Friends. Waking in the morning means checking email for 20 minutes even before turning on the morning news show.
Anywho... there's a myriad of things to distract us throughout the day. I don't think any of these things are awful in and of themselves - truly. Social media, the news, smart phones, and the like can serve a host of positive avenues in our lives these days. However, I do believe that if we focus too much on these things we risk becoming consumed and/or driven by such things. In doing so we may miss God's whispers during our day.
Now... I say these this recognizing fully that I have allowed myself to be totally consumed by such things as well as the breakneck pace of appointments, responding to emails in less than 5, and "liking" every possible FB status update or comment in fear of not appearing "social" enough. I obtained an iPhone near the beginning of 2012 through my job and immediately fell in "love." oh my word - it was a quick fall too.
Remember though... I quit my job recently. So that meant no more iPhone (unless I wanted to foot my own bill at the moment). So at the end of July I went from iPhone connectivity back to this:
And life has been so sweet because of it.
Now I won't lie. I'm gnawing at the bit to get my hands on an iPhone again. However, I must say that this time away from it has been a much needed break from distraction.
I have also limited my TV time lately. Instead of starting my mornings with world news and entertainment I turn to God's Word. I realize how "church camp" that sounds, but it has been an absolute necessity for me to drown out every voice but His lately. I have taken for granted how sensitive my mind is to input. That may be negative news, romantic comedies, the FB lives of friends that have "more" of what I want for myself, or the need to respond immediately to email as a means of controlling something - anything.
Gosh, it's exhausting.
So these days away from much of that have been so sweet. It's forced me to sit in silence, to listen to people instead of just hearing them, to listen to my own thoughts and sort out the Truth from the lies, to pick up a book - or even The book, and to write.
In essence, this disconnectedness has issued a connectedness to things that I've needed to focus on for quite some time. Most importantly, I've heard His voice more. I think He whispers to us frequently. We just have to be quiet and focused enough to hear Him.
Have you been hearing His still small voice lately?
So, so very true.
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