No Texting, please...

Another day on the Lenten calendar and another task to try out. My community group at church has started on a 40 day journey of sacrifice and of dying to the self(ego). We are doing this to honor the sacrifice Jesus made for us. Usually you hear of people giving up one thing for for the whole 40 days but we are giving up one thing a day. And it's not really giving something up it's actually doing something different-something to help us change so we can become more like the person God intended us to be.

So, yesterday's challenge was to not text and to use the phone instead. I am proud to say I didn't text even one person! It was so easy! Okay, all of you who know me can quit laughing now:) They all know that I don't text anyway. I have a phone that is pretty old and has 3 letters per number key so it takes me a half an hour to just type "I don't text"--the apostrophe takes me a good ten minutes alone. I was so excited when I saw this on the calendar; I knew I could at least accomplish this one.

But here's the thing, I don't think it was only about not texting. I think it was about putting a halt on the impersonal, technological way our society has become. I think the real meaning was in the calling part. The point I took away from this task was that we are called to be in community and to be in relationship. And nothing encourages closeness than one on one interaction. We can have a psuedo relationship with anyone through texting or emailing or facebooking but a true, intimate, god breathed relationship can only be nurtured through face to face contact.

If you missed this opportunity yesterday, try it today--I dare you! Call one person or make a date to meet someone for coffee or take a few minutes with your spouse to talk. I am challenging myself to do this not only today but everyday.