There is nothing on the television, no cellular in my hand as I sit and focus on what is right in front of me. It reminds me of being still in the presence of the Lord. How comforting. Little feet pitter patter across the floor and the rooster cockadoodles to wake the household like natural alarms telling me the day is upon us. I collect my thoughts with a morning prayer and hit the ground running.

As I drive to work, I take advantage of utilizing the academic highway listening to audiobooks on my commute. As it is my passion, I tend to be drawn to child development books. My current listen made a point of how utilizing technological apps could desensitize us as parents to being attune to our little humans. Those with whom we break bread on the day to day, pray with, love; the mere thought of disconnecting from them as we turn our focus to something as big as our hand is disheartening. In such a short listen, it made an impact on me for the rest of the day. It made me reflect as a parent of two daughters who enjoy their tablet time. As a mom, my thought took me to Matthew 6:21 that reads, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (NIV) This verse has had an impact on me since I discovered it. I read it daily as it hangs on my wall as a reminder. It is a quick passage on which to refocus within the “busy” of life.

While technological advancements serve a purpose and can make work much easier to do, I question if it needs to have such a loud presence within our home. A place where faith, hope, and love are to reside. A place of growing disciples and preparation of God’s work. A place to recharge from a long, exhausting day. Do we need its distraction? Do we need to “zone out” and lean into technology, or can we discipline ourselves enough to be present and caring for our family. If our purpose is to grow disciples and store our treasures in heaven, does a loud presence of technology distract us from that purpose? Are we so caught up in the “busy” and scheduling our lives to the minute, that we need the help of electronics to divide and conquer? Does technology truly draw us closer to one another? Is my heart focused on what I treasure the most? More importantly, when I am drained, does technology truly reenergize me? It is easy to fall accustomed to allowing an app, television, or tablet to take preference over being present within our home.

Over the past several months, our family has made some wonderful changes by changing the focal point of our lives. More studying about our Lord and Savior, more outside time, more board games, more communal dinners and time with friends, more focus on practicing rest with each other, lessening the focus on technology. While we continue to make changes in our life and focus more on what matters most to us, the desire for technology decreases. Technology cannot replace a human interaction when it is needed the most: A hug, a kiss, a random laugh, silly conversation while getting snuggles, or a back scratch. It cannot replace the feel of pages turning while reading a Bible with notes in the margins or the feeling and conversation you experience while playing a board game. Leaning into one another is something that takes us being present. While FaceTime can be a wonderful thing to utilize, we all know we need something more than just a phone, TV, or tablet. We need us. We need to continue to pursue powering down, to power up.