Recently I shared with you the difficulty to communicate I experienced while on a cruise as a result of the unreliable Wi-Fi service. I was away for a full two weeks and during that time was reminded of the importance of prioritizing my intention to keep my relationship with our Creator front and center.

Last week Sid and I were enroute to Nashville for Thanksgiving. As Sid dropped me off at the terminal for the Logan Express bus to the airport so he could park the car, our fur baby Sofie on her leash pulled me from my seat! This jerking caused me to twist sharply to the right and speedily come out of the car. (This information becomes relevant later in the story).

As we were ready to board the bus I reached into my coat pocket and my phone was not there where I had put it!! The bus was ready to go and even though I was allowed to run to the restroom and terminal lobby as fast as possible to search, my phone was nowhere to be found. At that moment and during the bus ride to the airport there were no good thoughts. Stomach churning, high anxiety, worry all set in. Where could the phone be? I called the terminal and asked them to check the grassy area where Sofie and I had walked which they so kindly did. All to no avail.

Many possible bad scenarios passed through my mind. What if someone had found it?? My passwords and to-do lists and everything (!!) is on my phone. It also contains my work desk as well as all of my personal work and emails. I used Sid’s phone to call my work number since my phone is provided by my office and the person in charge of IT Sholom (yes, that is his name) gave me great comfort (sholom) with his words. I could not use FindMyPhone for a multitude of reasons so I would just have to wait until we returned five days later to solve the dilemma.

The gathering in Nashville was not only to celebrate Thanksgiving, but also, to meet our daughter’s future in-laws and to be with our other daughter’s children (our grandchildren). By the time we made it to our destination I was calm for I felt there was nothing more I could do about the situation until I would return from our trip. I wanted to be fully present for such a wonderful gathering. I completely immersed my thoughts in prayers and thankfulness, and so, was able to relax.

I had resigned myself to be without my phone – no calls, texts, emails, work or personal, Words with Friends, YouTube and the like, for five days. Amazingly, I had a wonderful time completely in the present with the here and now. I could feel Yeshua so close to me through it all, reminding me God’s got this, not only in the phone loss specifics, but also, I could feel this experience was molding me, teaching me, His ways.

Our Abba was on a roll with opportunity. I wear a FitBit tracker as my watch and am very dependent on it to keep track not only of time, but also, of my sleep and steps. On the long walk I took the very next day, I forgot to put it on after my shower. No big deal, really. Yet a big deal to me for it was another way I was being shown the need to disconnect from the so many ways I have allowed myself to subtly be distracted from more important focus. Each deprivation of media device and influence brought me deeper into conversations with God and with those in my immediate presence.

At the Nashville airport on the day of our departure, Sid’s Real ID did not work. He had traveled with it before, just two weeks ago to Europe and back, with no problem. Yet there I was without a way to reach him, as he had to return to a ticket agent while I waited at the security check exit not knowing where he was or whether he could even fly with me, not to mention I had Sofie and he had her carrier. While Sid was gone I sat calmly and peacefully on a bench where I continued to thank God and felt His Presence throughout the over an hour of unknown. Sid and I ultimately reunited and flew home safely.

When we returned to the bus terminal Sid went to get the car while I waited with Sofie and our luggage inside the bus terminal. I have to say I felt so calm. It really didn’t matter if my bizarre acrobatic twist while getting out of the car when we left somehow had thrust the phone into the car which was a remote possibility. I was in a completely different place emotionally and especially spiritually than when I had been there five days earlier. While he was gone I felt a peace that surpassed all understanding.

Sid returned carrying my phone. Somehow, “inexplicably” in the hubbub of getting out of the car the phone had been flung onto the floor of the back seat of our car. Although I had been tempted days earlier to say “devil ain’t lazy” to lose my phone before a trip, I now said “God is good”.

It’s not that there’s anything wrong with phones and trackers. Given the geographic dispersal of many of our families, friends, and loved ones, phones are essential to be there for each other. It is wonderful to be able to work remotely and answer emails when away from my desk. What I was being reminded of, however, was how those benefits have been overshadowed by our overreliance on these devices for so much more.

What I was learning was that I had become overly dependent on my phone and the massive influences and information it facilitates to the detriment of relationships with others and even intimacy with God by taking away time better spent with them. I am not on social media so I thought I was not likely a victim of its vast pull. I was wrong. The thought of not having my phone for five days nearly ruined the trip.

The disconnect from Wi-Fi on the cruise, my cell phone and tracker over the holiday, and the massive amount of data I did not process during my time away revealed to me a sense of well being I had forgotten existed. Even with the pandemonium of some of our days in Nashville and the typical family drama, I felt present in a way I knew was new. It was good. It was real. I didn’t even think about my phone.

I’m not suggesting you drastically change your relationships with electronic and virtual opportunities to connect and learn. I am suggesting you will be amazed by the subtlety of our dependence on the system if you do so. I’m also suggesting you will interact so much more fully with others as you are less distracted by so much extraneous static that is part of our daily lives through this dependence. In many cases immediate responses are more of a habit than necessity, not to mention social media’s hook.

Most interestingly, if you try this experiment, you will be amazed how calming and soothing disconnecting is to your soul, and how much more able you become to hear His quiet promptings. You may even experience a peace that surpasses all understanding amidst the chaos.

Shabbat shalom.

Diane