Wednesday nights.
Those have become my favorite nights of the week. My friends come over to my dorm, we eat pumpkin bread, we don't do homework, we might watch a movie, and sometimes a cup of coffee is thrown in. My favorite part though is that is just feels like the most intentional time that I get with people all week long. No rush, no worries...just us hanging out.
I started thinking about how glued I've been feeling to my phone recently. I pick it up without even thinking about it and when I am on it and someone is speaking to me I zone out and have no idea what it is that they've been saying for the last minute. In a sense, I have been convicted by this. I mean, is looking at pictures on Instagram, reading a tweet, and reading a post on Facebook really worth missing out on time with people and conversation?
So this Wednesday before my friends came into my room, I decided that I was going to put my phone in the drawer of my desk for the whole night. I started an hour before they came which also helped me to get a lot of work done before hand. Honestly even after that hour I had forgotten about it and my hand wasn't reaching for it anymore. This got me giddy inside thinking about it, it was like an experiment. What difference would this make? What kind of conversation would happen as a result?
This became my favorite Wednesday of all the Wednesdays.
Conversation was more intentional, we laughed a lot more, and I felt really engaged with all of my surroundings for the first time in a while. The texts were still waiting for me, the pictures didn't disappear, and I could still reply to all of my snapchats. WOW. Who would have known?
I say all of this to say that it MATTERS if we have our phones in our hands when we are spending time with people. It has become less of an innocent problem and it bleeding into our lives in a serious way. Be engaged. Not because you feel forced to or feel guilty, but because it really matters whether or not if we are letting time tick by staring at a screen or looking into the eyes of people. You don't want to look back and wish that you would have been paying attention, just be present in the now.
It is refreshing and life breathing. Trust me, you friends will notice it too. It could become a habit among you and your people. Think about how conversation could change by just putting your phone in a "drawer" for a little while. It might be a little uncomfortable at first, but it is so worth it.
