Take a deep breath. Hold it for five seconds and then let it out slowly. Did you actually hold it for five seconds? Or did you just read over it thinking “I am way to busy for that. I am just going to skim this article, anyway."
With the constant technology surrounding us, our society has forgotten what it is like to be still. To just sit. To ponder, to wonder, to think about something and not feel like you are missing out on the action that is happening somewhere else. To be in the present moment and breathe. The fact that many people are actually addicted to their phones is scary. The world is craving instant gratification of knowledge, opinions, input, social media, and connections. Technology gives us that ability. But having that ability comes with the consequence of being inundated with feelings of missing out on something. If we don't hurry up and catch up with the world, it might just pass us by. This is a feeling I know well.
This summer, I am learning the importance of being still. Because of my job, I will not have my phone except on Saturdays, and I will have no access to a computer until Saturday. And I will have to just be. There have been times when I have reached for my phone and had to stop myself. There have even been times when I thought I heard it vibrate, but it was not even on. This connection to our phones has got to stop, because it interferes with the relationships we have with people around us. Have you ever been at a restaurant and seen two people, or even a family, sitting together and they are all staring at their phones? The worst feeling is to realize that that person at the table fixated on their iPhone is you.
I challenge you to take a day and focus on being still. This may seem to earthy for you, but the way that it resets your mind is incredible. God calls us to “Be still and know that I am God" in Psalm 46:10. I believe that He is giving us a huge, in-your-face hint that being still is an integral part of relationships, especially with Him.
Grab a cup of coffee, alone, and go sit somewhere and allow your mind to wander. Sometimes we get frustrated that our minds wander during our prayers because we never give them the chance to be still and just think.
By looking at our phones and being obsessed with what we might miss out on, we are missing what is right in front of us, which is more vibrant than any life we may see on a touch screen. So be still and wander.
