Have you ever longed for simplicity? Not just as an afterthought, I’m talking about for real. The true gut-wrenching need that starts deep down in your soul and wrestles itself to the surface: the need for stillness, quiet, time, and peace. I have been wrestling with this thought for over 2 weeks now. With the amount of technology at our fingertips, the fast pace of life, and the pressure to be everything to everyone ALL THE TIME sometimes leaves me lying awake at night staring into the darkness. I find myself saying these words over and over again in my head : there has to be a better way.
I was in the car pick-up line at Emma and Ben’s school waiting for the throes of kids to come out the double doors. Usually I’m busy trying to entertain Katie while we wait, but on this day she had fallen asleep. It gave me time to look around. I was AMAZED at the number of parents glued to their iPhones. The ones IN their cars and the ones waiting outside. Eyes focused on a little screen and jumping to answer the rings and text prompts. Now, I’m not against ANY of these things, and I am guilty of this too. But what my eyes were opened to for the first time was this: Most didn’t even look up when their kids found them waiting. I saw kid after kid walk up to their parent and were shushed, ignored, or just simply told to get in the car.
They never put down the phone. I felt humbled instantly. Have we become SO connected to the world of technology that we are missing what’s right in front of us? Are we losing touch with what’s real? Do we really want our kids to think that the ring of a cell phone trumps them telling us about their day? Do we want our spouse to think we care more about connecting with long-lost friends on face book than actually talking to them from the other side of the room? Do we want our kids to remember us sending text after text instead of pushing them on the swings at the park? We’ve become disconnected, and I don’t like it- at all.
Friday night was the straw for me. You know, the one that broke the camels back? It had not been a good day. There’s just no better way to put it. Sometimes you just pray for grace and patience to start over again tomorrow. The craziness of the evening was in full motion. I was trying to get the kitchen cleaned up from dinner. There was a lot of whining going on: toys that needed batteries, cuts that needed band-aids, dolls that needed that one special dress right this minute. The news was on in the kitchen, Just Dance Kids was blaring “Kung Fu Fighting” from the other room, Dave’s work phone was going off, and my cell said I had 3 new text messages.
I started crying. All the sudden it was too much. I couldn’t even think straight. I wanted to SMASH every piece of technology we owned. And then I had a revelation: there IS a better way. It was a moment of clarity that I totally believe was the Holy Spirit. A peace fell over me and I set the rag down right in the middle of scrubbing the counters. Go outside. That’s what I needed to do. I left the kitchen, grabbed a blanket and walked out the front door. I know I got a lot of stares from my family as I passed them, but I was on a mission.
I laid out my blanket in the middle of the front yard and stared up at the sky- peace. I felt it instantly. A new perspective. I laid out there alone for only a few minutes. I knew they would come. Emma was the first to come out. She lay down by me and said, “Why are you laying out here?” I just said, “Looking up in the sky.” She looked up and as if on cue, a falling star shot right in front of us! She screamed and that brought out Ben. He plopped down next to me and layed his head on my shoulder. A few minutes later I heard the TV’s turning off inside, the porch lights go off, and Dave and Katie joined us.
It wasn’t quiet anymore but we were together. We were talking with NO distractions. It wasn’t complicated. It felt right. It felt like the better way. I know we will probably relapse and fall into old patterns. But I am earnestly praying that we all can live in the moment. That God will stir in us a desire to prioritize what is important. Hug your kids. Grab their little faces smeared with jelly and tell them how much you love them. Kiss your honey right when they get home. TURN OFF the distractions and talk to each other. God is teaching me to be still.
Psalm 23:1-3 says, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.”
And Exodus 14:14 : “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still."
And finally, I leave you with this verse from Job 6:24:
“Teach me, and I will be quiet; show me where I have been wrong.”
THERE IS A BETTER WAY….
