Disconnected
I am getting to know my internet provider’s customer representatives by name.
Not because I am trying to make new friends, mind you. I have been calling almost every day for the past week trying to get internet set up at our new place.
After being transferred multiple times and being on the phone for hours, I am beginning to recognize certain voices and names. Oh, hello again, Christy. Yes, I’ll hold…
And so I’ve been holding my breath for over a week now waiting for my internet light to flash green.
In the meantime, we’ve been tethering our phones and anxiously watching our usage meter get precariously close to our monthly limit. I’ve been hunting for McDonalds and other cafes with free wi-fi.
Obviously, we’ve been frustrated.
But oddly, we’ve also been creative.
Roy and I swap our phones when one of us is going out and the other staying in (Roy’s phone tethers better than mine). I’m using my paper Bible more than Biblegateway (Did you know that most Bibles have a concordance in the back? It’s no Google, but hey, it helps). I type this blog on Word and then upload it quickly once I connect to the precious internet. I’m calling people instead of emailing them.
Being disconnected requires searching for ways to connect in alternative ways.
I think we need the same creativity and effort to connect with God. Not because He is unwilling to draw near, but because we have limited vision and hearing. The communication lines are often broken on our end. There are many distractions (not just without, but within, in our own minds), and the noise pollution complicates what could be such a simple conversation with our Friend.
So for those of us who need that re-connection this week, here are some tips:
- Pray out loud – preferably, in a quiet place away from people who will stare at you. Something about saying it out loud helps us focus on what we’re saying.
- Write it down – for kinesthetic learners like myself, writing a prayer journal helps to better express our thoughts
- Try the ACTS model of prayer:
- Adoration – praise God for who He is (ex: You are a merciful God!)
- Confession – ask Him for forgiveness (ex: I was grumpy with the internet provider)
- Thanksgiving – thank Him for specific things (ex: Thank you that I have this new home and that you’ve filled my life with such abundance that the worst problem right now is the lack of high-speed internet).
- Supplication – ask God for our daily needs and for others (ex: Please watch over the victims of the bushfires).
- Try one of the 11 Different Ways to Pray shared by PMC which includes prayer walking, group prayer, etc.
- Pray with someone – sharing prayer requests and praying together can help us feel better connected with God.
- Have a special designated time or place for prayer. Set your phone alarm or have a special quiet spot in the park or garden in your neighborhood.
What have you tried and liked?
by: Jinha Kim
"But those who drink the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14