Major Engagement Failure!! (2 of 3)

The following text came in while I was writing yesterday’s blog post on being engaged (click here so you can read what I am talking about!)  This is from a dear, precious friend in a previous church from another state who I have not talked to in way too long.  Here's the text message (parentheses are my comments):

"I have something I need to run by you.  Call made (I am doing a direct quote here…I’m pretty sure she meant ‘me’!!  Gotta love auto correct!) when you have a minute or so. Nothing earth shattering. So fear not :)"  (She knows me oh so well!!)

I read the text but wanted to finish up the post so that I could be really engaged in our conversation and, after all, it was not “earth shattering”.  I wrapped up the post, read it over, re-read it, proofread, changed, edited, worried over it, prayed over it, worried some more, confessed my sin of worry, and hit publish.

Then I called her.  Her voice always brings me comfort and joy (sounds like a Christmas Carol) and even though we have not talked in a while we jump right to the issue at hand….no need to catch up….no need for small talk….just get to it.

Then it happened.  Horror of horrors I did it!!!  Without even realizing it--right in the middle of her story--I reached over for my IPad and mindlessly began to play solitaire!!  I’m listening to what she was saying…..really I was….mostly…..then I realized I was missing some details….then it hit me!!!  I was not engaged!!  I was ‘multitasking’ with my friend!  I did not follow my stop, look, listen rule!!  I was playing solitaire for crying out loud!!

It’s not just our husbands, our children and our God that we must be engaged with it is also our friends! 

The telephone is an easy culprit to keep us from being engaged.  How many times have you talked to someone while doing dishes or cleaning up or putting on makeup or sitting on the potty?  Well, that last one might not keep us from being engaged since, after all, we are just sitting.

Sometimes you just might need to stop what you are doing and talk.  Many times it is distracting to hear all of the activity going on in the background.  I’m not suggesting that you never do anything else while you are talking on the phone….I’m just asking you to consider what message you are sending.

There was a time when the telephone was attached to the wall….there was no moving around.  I wonder….were we more engaged then?  Truthfully, we still were guilty of multitasking tethered to the wall!

Be engaged….even when on the phone.