Those were the infamous words spoken a few weeks back. Such a kick to the gut. The realization that I had put a world inside of a metal object ahead of my children in terms of priorities. What must life be like for the children of today. Parents constantly staring at their hand held devices and never looking up. Eating dinner glued to a screen. Missing moments and the joys of life. Waste time doing something completely unimportant. I had fallen into that trap. Sadly those words weren't the kick that made me put my phone down. It should have been enough to hear that tiny voice sound so frustrated that she was being ignored for a world that didn't really exist.
When I think back to my childhood I remember my mom cooking, sewing, playing with us, reading her Bible, cleaning always cleaning and talking on the phone. But I was blessed to grow up in a time without the internet and smart phones. When my children read Proberbs 31 in the future I want them to think of me not my iphone.
and does not eat the bread of idleness
Her children rise up and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:"
Proverbs 31: 27-28
Idleness. That's what comes to mind when I think about facebook, instagram, and the many other apps that consume my day. How did we get to the point when our whole lives revolve around something that doesn't breathe, feel, and wastes all our time?
SO I said before that it wasn't my precious daughters voice that cut through the cloudy haze that had consumed my life it was a simple video of my boys swinging. I often scroll through the videos and pictures in my phone before I fall asleep. As I was scrolling through I came across a video that I had taken of my boys swinging on the swing set while "sissy" was at preschool. What a precious video and the joy on their faces. But I realized that I may have captured that joy in a 15 second video but I wasn't there that day in the moment. I pushed the boys while surfing facebook looking up occasiounally. I stopped for that 15 seconds and took a video and went right back into my imaginary world of strangers I call "friends." The video took the wind out of my sails and left me in a puddle of tears. I had missed those moments and I could never get them back. As I cried into my pillow I made a silent vow to myself to be in every moment and never miss out because of my phone.
Currently I am doing facebook fridays where I stay off of facebook except for Fridays(and sometimes the middle of the night). I am also not posting anything to instagram or facebook other than on Friday. I hope this post encourages you to be in the moment and to put your phone down more.
