Staying Connected

When I was a young girl, I had a pen pal. I don’t remember her name now, but I remember we wrote back and forth a few times. She once sent me a little knitted doll that I still have, but I don’t remember that I kept any of her letters.

When I got a little older, my family moved away from my grandparents, but my grandmother often wrote to me. When I left for college, her letters kept coming, as did those from other family members. Though busy, I still tried to stay connected. I did better with phone calls. I phoned my mom fairly frequently after leaving home. I also remember my dad calling every Sunday morning at eight o’clock without fail, beginning when I was a teenager and then well into my adult married years.

When Facebook came along, I was excited to reconnect with distant family and old school friends. It’s much easier to scroll through Facebook than sit down and write a long letter to someone. It’s also less intrusive in another person’s life than a phone call. But I can still stay connected. Today we have so many more ways of staying connected. I often text my kids, attend Zoom meetings, and often FaceTime with my dad, daughters, or granddaughter. And during the recent pandemic, I was very glad that my husband, who is a pastor, was able to hold a church service that was livestreamed for our members and others so they could stay connected. But you know, the older I get, the more I realize the best way to stay connected is just to be with someone.

Talking to people face-to-face, seeing their expressions, and being able to hug them —that’s what we were meant to do.

That’s the way God created us. He created Adam and Eve, and then He came and spent the day with them in the Garden of Eden.

FaceTime, texts, phone calls, and letters are OK, but they are only the next best thing to being there. Two arms wrapped around me in a huge bear hug —that’s the best! I can view my spiritual life in this same way. Journaling my prayers and reading the Bible are great ways to stay connected to God.

Yet I am really looking forward to the day when I can feel His strong arms around me —in person— and hear Him say, “Welcome home!”

Kathy Pepper