It is hard to believe we are nearly halfway through the year, and 2020 has already been quite the year. During recent time with my family, I asked if everyone felt like things had returned to normal, and to my surprise, I quickly received a unified response that “there is nothing normal about 2020!” OK then!
I decided to do a little social experiment by asking each family member what they learned during the monthlong shelter in place back in April.
I started with my 15-year-old son, who said, “I realized I actually missed sitting in class with my friends. Yes, we would goof around a bit, but if I had a question for the teacher, most of the time, someone else would ask it, and while we were digitally learning, no one asked a single question.”
I then asked our daughter, who was home from Samford, and she replied, “I realized how much I miss corporate assembly at church and with my friends at college. It’s kind of hard to ‘do life’ digitally. I love leading worship back in Birmingham during the school year, but when we converted to digital worship, I really felt disconnected from the people. The good news is my personal quiet time sure was awesome!”
Finally, I asked my wife what she learned or experienced during that time. She agreed with our daughter that not being physically in church was difficult, and watching our pastor, Jeremy, online was not the same as being in the worship service.
My wife said, “It forced me to become more patient, but I noticed others in the community seemed to be a bit more on edge, even after the shelter was lifted.”
Regardless of the generation, the consensus is that technology is a great tool, but it cannot replace the necessity for the intimacy of personal interactions. Granted, the time together as a family allowed for some interesting discussions, but if you are like me, you are grateful summer has arrived!
to your business!