Introduction
Recently my wife and I got to visit one of our favorite Texas cities, George West.
Every year our church has a camp out at which we spend time together eating, laughing, talking, and playing recreational games.
The weekend finishes Sunday morning with a service held inside the Choke Canyon State Park gym.
What I love about this church trip is it’s focus upon unity and relationships. And that is what I want to speak briefly on today.
The Lesson
One thing I’ve learned to do since being married is how to say no.
I don’t say no just to be contrary, but I say no at times so I can say yes to the things that truly matter.
Saying no to certain things over the years has allowed me to have a very close relationship to my wife.
A close relationship with her is something that truly matters to me, so I make sure I get to do plenty of it.
There is profound value in building genuine relationships. Knowing what this weekend in George West was all about, my wife and I made the decision to leave our phones in the car.
We knew we’d be with the church family for several hours, and there’d be plenty of picturesque moments, but we still left our phones in the vehicle.
To us there was more value of being in the moment, rather than diluting the moment by posing for pictures and scrolling on our phones.
Because we chose not to bring our phones, we were “forced” to interact with others. So we spoke with people, listened to them, and enjoyed outdoor activities with them as well.
One of my favorite things is putting the spotlight on other people and just allowing them to talk about the things they are passionate about. Thankfully I got to do a lot of that this weekend.
Because we strengthened many relationships during this weekend, we didn’t regret our “no phone rule” for one moment.
Not once did we have to interrupt a conversation because we needed to take a phone call.
While playing tennis together, I never had to stop to read a text from someone who wasn’t with me.
Whenever something funny or interesting happened at the camp out, we enjoyed it in the moment rather than trying to capture the moment on video .
Phones and cameras definitely have their place, don’t get me wrong. If it wasn’t for cameras, you wouldn’t see any of the pictures in this blog post!
But to be clear, there was a photographer at the camp out who took my wife and I’s photo. We didn’t use our phone.
Additionally, the pictures in George West were at night once we had left the state park and camp out.
Conclusion
In closing, I hope you see the value in taking time away from electronics, and spending time with the ones you love.
We live in a world where our cell phones are never far away from us at any given time.
But I guarantee people will notice whenever you set the phone aside, and focus solely on them.
Balance is key.
Until next time, y’all have a good one.
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