As we embark on a fresh new year, I cannot help but observe the desperate need for human connection in the world. Social media is lovely for staying connected with old friends and far away family. It was never meant to replace and fill the space of human connection in our world.
Can we bravely step away from cell phones and other screens for real connections and conversation? What does it feel like when we do? True connections are rich.
There was a time when both men and women took time to write letters. There is nothing like knowing someone sat down and took the time to think about you or the risk to share their heart. I used to love writing letters to my church camp friends. Long distance calls were deemed too expensive. I still love a letter or other happy mail.
Again today, I passed a very busy coffee shop. I love coffee... and many other warm beverages found in coffee shops in nearly every town. I prefer to support a small business, but the chains help us find the comforts of home everywhere we go. Coffee shops are kind of a modern gathering place where people meet to connect. (Honestly, farmers have been meeting at grain elevators and gas stations for coffee all of my life, so maybe it isn't that modern.) These are the places where we put down our devices and connect with friends and family.
There is a passage in Hebrews that reminds of the importance of gathering together.
"Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near." -Hebrews 10:24-25
At home, at church, in coffee shops, and wherever we find our feet... be present and savor His presences, too.
Today, I am grateful that presence can be a present.
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