We made plans to meet at 12:30PM, but here it was well after that and I hadn't heard from him. I guess it wasn't entirely his fault- I left my cell phone at my house in the morning. How was he to get a hold of me?
People ate, people left, and I began to feel foolish for sitting there waiting without a word.
What did we do 15 years ago?
The dude I was meeting wouldn't know.. he was only a toddler then. He doesn't remember calling house lines to catch people if your plans changed. If that didn't work, you'd have to call the numbers of all known associates: friends, work place, other places they may frequent. As a last resort, if none of that worked, you would call the restaurant to have them tell the person you were meeting that you were late or not coming.
Other than that, you pretty much just had to make plans to be somewhere at a certain time & a certain place and trust that they would be there. You got to where you were supposed to be, sat tight, kept your eyes open, and hoped they remembered and would show up. What a different world we lived in before cell phones!
At 12:56PM I ordered food and marveled at the way things used to be.
How did we survive before cell phones?
How often do we get upset if we can't get a hold of someone immediately?
"Where are they? Why aren't they answering?!" or better yet, "Ooh! It went straight to voicemail! They're IGNORING ME!!"
We get upset if someone isn't tending to their phone.
But think about it...
How often do we check our phones?
How often do we interrupt a conversation for the phone?
How often do we interrupt a task for the phone?
How often are we checking our phone when we are with people?
How often are we talking on the phone when we could be interacting with people around us?
...calls, texts, emails, facebook updates, etc.
I recently had 4 days away from my phone & I have to tell you... it was phenomenal. The software on my phone fried and the phone was rendered useless.
-For a day and a half I stressed out and wondered what was going on in the world: Who is trying to get a hold of me? What's going on? Is the world still turning on its axis?
-I started to loosen up at the end of the 2nd day and I began to realize a few things: 1) I wasn't as important as I thought. 2) Things were going to be okay. And, 3) The world is still turning.
-By the 3rd day I was in pure bliss. I was stress-free and wondered how I ever owned a cell phone.
-Half way through the 4th day, my phone was nearly fixed & I began to lament the coming return of my cell phone.
(Strangely enough, this cycle is much like my prayer life: I loath the first few minutes, thoroughly enjoy the middle section, and lament over the last few moments & the end of my time and return to reality)
I came out of this 4 day cellular vacation with a clear head & a few crucial reminders. I'm not sure if chucking our phones is the right response, but certainly healthy boundaries are in order. Boundaries that allow real & vital life to take place with people we know, people we come in contact with, the tasks & duties of the day, & most importantly with our Creator.
There are blocks of time where I simply will not answer or check my phone. After that block of time I will check messages, get back to those I need to, etc. If there is a task at hand, a person you need to be with, a time when you want to commune with the Lord, or for whatever reason you need to engage in the moment: turning off the phone, silencing your phone, or leaving your phone behind for a time is an easy way to be faithful to the relationships, people, and tasks that need to be nourished.
I'm not saying that I nail the boundary thing all of the time. In fact, often times I am the worst offender of the electronic leash. Just ask my Valentine date this year: there was a good 10 minute period where I twiddled my thumbs away & talked on the phone instead of engaging my beautiful date. Needless to say, we haven't really spoken in 2 months.
It's really a question of who rules who...
& life is just too darn important to be ruled by your cell phone.
