My 5 year-old niece holds a special place in my heart. I love her. She sometimes calls me up on FaceTime during the day, and I drop everything when I get that call. We spend the next hour talking about everything. I even find myself watching her put together a puzzle on the other end of the iPad. It’s not exactly riveting conversation, but I just love to be with her—even digitally.
Well a couple of weeks ago my sister and my two nieces actually moved to Texas. We picked them up from the airport and spent a few hours with them. But the weirdest thing happened. While hanging out with my niece—finally in person—I found myself wanting to play a game on my phone.
Seriously?! This little girl that tugs at my heart strings is finally here, and I want to go back to my phone? What’s changed that I’d drop anything to talk to my niece, yet now she’s here and I’m distracted by other things?
My phone is the fake thing. My niece is the real thing. Yet I’m settling for the fake.
I believe we all do this in some form throughout our lives. We settle for the fake thing that doesn’t satisfy. We miss out on the real. We settle for fake relationships via Facebook. We settle for fake compassion by assuming our hashtagged tweet contributes to justice for the oppressed. We settle for fake self-worth by finding our identity in what others say about us.
I don’t want to live a counterfeit life. I don’t want to settle for the fake when the real is right in front of me.
Reaching for the real will look different for each of us. But for me, it means putting my phone down and being present with the ones I love. It means resisting the appeal of that iPhone game and focusing all my attention on my family members. It takes work to reach for the real, but it’s oh so worth it.
Great thoughts and lesson here!