So, I got to thinking the other day about all the cell phone usage going on, not only among youth, but really just about everybody. Let’s think back for a moment down Memory Lane (which might really “date” me), but: I remember when NO ONE had cell phones, and when they first came out, they were huge honkin’ things (that really no one in their right mind would want to carry), but, regardless of their size, everyone envied those who had them (most likely doctors and lawyers) and everyone wanted one. Now, everyone has one, even preschoolers who know how to play games on them!
Not only games can be played, but we can use it as a camera. I remember when Polaroid Cameras were the coolest things (Memory Lane #2) where we could have instant pictures at the click of a button (how cool was that???), but cell phones now also have cameras that take some pretty great instant pics, obviously putting Polaroid by the wayside! We cannot only take pics and selfies, but we can share them around the world…….
Which leads us to using our cell phone as a mini-computer. We can google any information we desire to look for, which hence did away with encyclopedias. But isn’t it great to have our cell phone handy to look up “anything” we are interested in?! Not only that, but it has memory storage at our fingertips! (Memory Lane #3) I remember when there were no laptops and had to use room-size computers in college that we had to “share” with others in the computer lab. Not only can we now google information ourselves (on our phone), but we can ask “Alexa” to do it for us! Wow!
Let’s take a moment to talk about texting. (Memory Lane #4) Who would have thought “back when” that we could text someone around the world instantly when it used to take good money to send something overnight “snail mail” and be happy to do it. Lol!
No need to carry a pen in our shirt pocket either – no more leaks and ink stains on the front of your shirt – just whip out the phone and type in a quick message in your phone “notes.”
No more scrambling for a calculator when we need one either. Just pull out the phone. Oh, and, don’t forget, no need to stumble in the dark, our cell phone also serves as a handy flashlight, and there is never now any excuse to wake up late since we have the phone alarm clock.
And let’s not even go there regarding shopping and the ease of spending money, and then our phone having the audacity to give us similar shopping-item suggestions (unasked for) for what you were searching for, or asking how our experience was after having dinner at Olive Garden.
This list could go on. There are just so many pluses (and some minuses) in having a cell phone. Those pluses, however, also have driven us to want things instantly. No time to wait! The phone rings while we’re driving and it seems the world will end if we don’t answer it right away, regardless of who is calling or the danger of trying to grasp for it on the far side of the passenger seat where it slid when making the last turn.
The same with texting. We feel the “need” to respond by text, even while driving, which is one of the most dangerous things we can do, when, in reality, people can wait for our response once we’ve arrived at our destination.
In saying all of the above, with the increase in technology (that seems to really be centered around our cell phones), we must take a moment to remember one thing we cannot do: We cannot call God with our cell phone. We cannot text, send an email, nor message Him on Facebook. We need to take a moment to stop and make our requests and petitions known to God through prayer.
Please take a moment to set the cell phones aside and spend time with our Heavenly Father. He wants and longs to hear from us. Even with all the pluses of having cell phones and great technology in this fast-paced world, let’s all take time to stop and send Him “Knee-Mail” often throughout the day. That really is the most miraculous and safest technology today … and it works!
(“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6)
Poem stanza above is excerpt from my poem, “Knee-Mail.” You can read the poem in its entirety in my book, “The Fingers of God.”
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
