WE YEARN FOR IT BUT DO WE DO IT

We are all so busy these days, even if it’s not with work projects, deadlines, etc., most of our society has the world right at their fingertips via their phones. We think not a moment is wasted anymore by standing in line, waiting at a traffic light, sitting in a waiting room, because we can be on our phones, answer emails, work on documents, surf the internet, play games…. The thought of a quiet, contemplative, catch your breath, pray, be aware of our inhales and exhales, pay attention to the 5 senses that God gave us, and just BE in that moment, that thought seems to barely exist anymore.

We value having choices. We say we yearn for quieter, simpler days. Up until very recently, I still had a flip phone, and many times people would say, “I envy you, I wish I could go back and just have a flip phone again.” And yet, if we forget our phone charger and our phone dies in the middle of the day, how completely lost and out of sorts do we feel?

We yearn for one thing and then do the other. We yearn for one thing and then we’re hit with anxiety when we have the opportunity to savor what we deeply yearn for.

When we’re around the horses, who are always present, always in the moment, always seeking peace, unity and calm, we have a direct (negative) effect on them when we’re constantly distracted, always busying ourselves, never truly focused, we’re scatter-brained thinking of all the things we have to get done, we “have” to check our phones, etc. We rob them of their peace and calm because of our choices. The horses will walk away; they won’t want to be around us.

Have you experienced this in any of your human relationships?

We are made for relationships, for connection, for emotional intimacy, for fellowship. We are made to know and be known, to understand and be understood, to love and be loved.

With the horses, we must put down our phones if we desire to EVER truly connect and engage with them.

The same is true with us and God. As Christians, we say we long for deeper intimacy with Jesus, we yearn for His Presence, we desire to know and do His will… But do we reach for Him as often and as quickly as we reach for our phones? Do we feel lost and out of sorts when we don’t spend time with Him, like we do when we don’t have our phones for a minute?

I’m speaking to myself here, because even when I go out to the barn and am around my horses, more times than not, my focus is on getting the chores done, not just Being with the horses. How much of our time is spent doing things “for” God, rather than simply BEing with Him?

Let’s be intentional today to look up from our phones, to smile at somebody, to look in somebody’s eyes and say hello, to look around us and find things to thank God for!