NOT CONNECTED

I am headed back to "The Hood" today after a week of Clara Barton duty. I am always in my element when I have someone to boss around and micro-manage.  The patient was compliant and I spent the week cooking--one of my favorite activities--and sharing all the worldly wisdom garnered from my years of living.  I missed seeing MANY of my hometown peeps, but the purpose of this trip was  accomplished--honing my long dormant storehouse of medical misinformation.

OF COURSE, I drug along ALL my equipment to keep me connected to ALL of my WWW friends---an entire bag filled to the brim with electronic gadgets.  I arrived to find--the patient is "Off The Grid"----GASP!  So for one week I have been "Unplugged" from the WWW and all its wonders except for an occasional glimpse via I phone.  I have little patience with my I phone--so the forays via I phone were VERY brief.  Totally unconnected from the world and social media--I lived in LaLa Land.  I had SERIOUS withdrawal.  I found myself lost and having to resort to archaic practices such as looking at Cookbooks for recipes, searching the dictionary for meanings, and even the seemingly forgotten art of face to face conversations.  After the second day, I began to twitch and by the my fourth day I was staring into the sky with my slackened jaw agape.  All of a sudden I turned the corner and found myself enjoying the break--ignorance sometimes is bliss.  

Social Media can be a wonderful thing and I have enjoyed reconnecting with MANY long lost friends, but when your entire social connection slowly evolves into staring at some type of computer screen---you have fallen over the edge of reason.  I will take some time to re-examine my networking when I get home--and hopefully re-establish some of that wonderful --old fashioned face time--off the Facebook.

During the week, I laughed a great deal about being unconnected-but it has made me stop and consider how important connectivity is.  When all is said and done--we have our relationships--all the other is non-essential fluff.  These relationships mature and ripen when we spend time nurturing them--by spending time together.  You have a glimpse of who I am by reading my writing, but you will see the "Real me" only when we spend time sharing life together.  Face to face--time sharing with each other.  What a shame to live in a cave--staring at the computer or television and missing the joy of loving each other.

So it is with God---our relationship with Him will deepen and broaden as we spend time with Him.  We will not be connected--unless we pursue Him. Time spent listening to sermons, sitting before great teachers, in Bible Study, and at conferences are wonderful--but not enough.  Face to face---communication is the key to a deep and lasting relationship which grows into a deep well of His constant and faithful presence.  Staying connected is the key to a maturing relationship and mature relationships are the greatest blessings in life.

I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.

Proverbs 8:17