Just got back from the family vacation in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. It's a great time to truly unplug and get away--no internet access, a small hard-to-watch TV, hardly any shopping or commercialism, just woods, lakes, wildlife...good simple gifts.
My oldest son was asked to leave his cell phone behind and he was a good sport about it. What a difference it made: we had a teen far more engaged than is often the case, someone more content to play board games, to go outdoors and fish, to play cards with family members. But best of all, we heard him laugh and chat with his little brother after lights out at night. That normally never happens at home with separate rooms, schedules, and interests. There's a joy to living unplugged--at least once in a while. When was the last time you did that?
But...I returned to our church to find that the front office had been vandalized and our email server badly damaged. Our church staff has been out of email contact with each other and the wider world for over a week now. So, clearly there's a joy of living unplugged--as well as a great hassle when taken to the extreme!
What an interesting juxtaposition: the usefulness and necessity of digital communication on the one hand, as well as the blessed break we can enjoy when stepping away from it once in a while. How to live in that rhythm is the challenge, it seems to me.
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