Life

Life

Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word.

“WHO NEEDS TO BE LOGGED IN?” I called, looking for the Zoom link code buried in the text thread. It was a mad-dash scramble as Aaron and I logged three separate devices into the Zoom call, and the kids scampered off to their respective rooms with a device in hand.

“Good morning, Family!” Aaron’s sister Amy called out as Jonny and Lizzie each entered the virtual meeting, with Aaron and I joining a few moments later from the kitchen. Aaron’s mom, Connie, was already there, as were our nieces and Chad, Amy’s husband.

“I’ve got a new game to try this week, and Aunt Marigrace sent Grandma Connie another joke to tell,” Amy said.

It was Sunday morning, and we were experimenting with a new way to gather when schedules and activities make trips to see one another in person difficult. Amy suggested a Sunday morning family Zoom call a few weeks back, and it had become an easy, fun way to gather. We played games, told jokes, and enjoyed seeing one another’s faces more frequently than we would if driving was required.

We live just far enough apart to require intentional effort to gather in person, and with four cousins involved in activities it can get tricky to match up schedules. As they say, life happens. And unfortunately, we too often let it.

As we hung up, I considered what a gift technology can be, providing creative ways to stay connected to those we love when the busyness of life feels overwhelming.

And while technology helps, it is more a Band-Aid than a solution, and I find myself asking what things I can release—even for a season—to create margin, to create space and time for living between the rushing. Pausing to sift our lives from time to time is important, learning to separate the important from mere distractions—releasing the things we’ve fallen into because of cultural expectations or boredom.

Asking periodically how and where we are spending our one, precious life, is healthy and wise. And regular reflection before God will reveal the answers, asking him to redirect us when we start seeking too many distractions, too many time wasters, too much we’ll deem worthless when we stand before his throne.

Lord, align our hearts with yours, and help us rebalance how we spend our days, setting aside the worthless for life through you. Amen.

-Julie

One Good Step: Keep track of how you spend your time for one week. Prayerfully consider what worthless things you could stop doing.