Dear Home Base: Dashing Distraction

Dear Home Base,

Once upon a time, I intended to write one post a week to keep you guys updated. Obviously, that hasn't happened. I apologize. You're all a gracious crowd--but just in case, this is me smiling sweetly and batting my eyelashes.

I'd love to tell you that every spare moment of writing time has simply been lost in soaking up this place and these people, but guess what? It hasn't. Instead, it's been devoured by the following activities:

Sitting around.

Texting.

Worrying.

Social media.

Empty. Mindless. Distraction.

Now, I am not complaining. I have not wasted all my time. I have spent hour upon hilarious hour with new friends. I have discovered amazing things about an awesome God. I have cuddled small cousins and sipped coffee with a wise grandmother.

But I have also struggled to be present.

See, there's this little device that promises a rush of dopamine nearly every time I check it, and I just can't keep my naughty, addicted fingers off of it. It's to the point where every time my seven-year-old cousin comes over, she goes, "Are you still texting?" Yes. Yes, I am. 

And then there's Facebook, and Pinterest, and all the concerns that can flood my introspective brain at any given moment, and it's just a perfect storm of endless distractions.

At the top of the stairs at my grandparents' house, they hung wise words: Bidden or not bidden, God is present. It's one of the first things I learned about God--He's everywhere. But it's more than that. He's not just in the room. He's engaged. He's active. He's sunken in to the lasting and beautiful things in this, real moment, and He's inviting me to do the same.

And here I am staring at a screen. What's wrong with this picture?

The screen is not the problem. I am. So this week I am doing what many wise households do with their small children: limiting screen time. Sunday through Friday, I'm taking my baby step and restricting texting and media to a single hour in the evening. Such a menial sacrifice. I'm almost ashamed to type it out. I planned on doing more, and part of me worries this is not good enough. But, baby or not, it's a step in the right direction. God often works in the seemingly insignificant. Even in the small changes, He can make me more like Christ.

So here's to being more present, to embracing withdrawal and phantom vibrations, to building real relationships, to practicing here what I can bring home. Maybe you'll even get a blog post out of it. ;)

On that note, don't forget us! We love you!

Your Recovering Distract-aholic,

Jessi