I don't think that I will ever stop being amazed at babies.
Full human beings, totally complete, with finger nails and eye lashes. Their individual personalities so clearly portrayed in their specific desires on the way they like to be held, swaddled and even the exact way they like the curtain pulled. The sweet smell of their skin, and the incredible softness of their hair. I love the way a fresh newborn curls up into the position he or she was in the mother's womb. I don't think that I will ever stop being amazed at babies, because babies are people too, and just like me and you - we are uniquely amazing in every way.
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I signed up for social media in 2016 and immediately regretted it.
I had moved away from camp - what I jokingly call real Facebook, a place where you see people once or twice a year and catch up on their lives. After two years of missing connection with old friends, and not feeling like I had solid new friends, I decided to get the famed Facebook and Instagram. I had heard people kept up on these platforms, but instead I found an unusual world where people posted cat videos, memes and the occasional epic post about their latest adventure. Other people also posted their frustrations about whatever phase of life they were in. I found it to be an unusual world, and yet I found myself drawn back time and time again to it's empty promise of connection, and the addictive quality of the likes, loves and the peanut gallery of comments - where instead of connection, I found division and arguments, people feeling free to say anything, most of it something you would never say to another person if you were face to face with them. Fast forward six years. With the world only getting crazier, the world of social media had only become more unusual, self-centered, and harsh. Except now I had found myself sucked into this unusual world as well. The dizzying amount of content, advertisements, cat videos, memes and the constant stream of what people ate for dinner, another's opinion on the latest political scheme, punctuated by the news of a nursing school acquaintance's brother's suicide, followed by an advertisement for baby diapers. What an unusual world we have made. We are made for connection. God created Adam, but there was "not found a helper fit for him." Genesis 2:20 And so God created Eve, the perfect companion for him. Human connection. And of course Adam and Eve were created to know God, to be known by God, and to commune with him. It's amazing how sin has messed up our human connection, as well as man's connection with his Creator. Cat videos, memes and all the content in the world cannot replace my need for other people, or my need for God. The last six years have been a journey of trying to connect with hundreds of people on a personal level that social media was never designed to fill. Not every element of social media is bad, and it certainly can be a tool used to communicate with people and give life updates. But what I found was that every time I clicked on a social media app, ultimately I was looking to fulfill my own selfish desire to be seen and heard, and I suspect most other people were there to fill the same need. In looking back on this six year experiment (exactly what I named it when I signed up for social media) I'm glad for what it taught me. Social media taught me the simple joy and pleasure in a walk with a friend, a cup of coffee shared with deep heartfelt conversation, or a belly laugh over a funny anecdote with a coworker. And most of all, social media taught me the preciousness of uninhibited communion with the Savior - which if I am honest, is incredibly difficult with the distraction of social media at my fingertips. So I am looking forward to the years ahead of intentional friendships with the people I care most about in the here and now, for friends far away and friends near by. I have found surprise phone calls and snail mail to be increasingly more meaningful and exactly what we were designed and created for - connection. So if you made it reading this far, you are likely one of my friends! I will end with this: If you are far away, lets talk once in a while - and if you are close, lets go on a hike or local adventure! And as always, you can find me here, sharing the joys of film photography and the occasional thoughts in my mind that come together in words when I have the will to put them one after another. Much love and hugs from Northern Michigan! NJoy |
Naomi JoyI was born a month early, and to the surprise of my parents, I was a girl! Archives
June 2023
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