I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about where my priorities lie.
I am slowly realizing that I spend 90% of my time working, in front of my computer or attached to my smartphone. Instagramming, Facebooking, pinning, blogging, designing…
I love what I do. But I do it too much.
It culminated when I began doing a devotion on recognizing the idols in my life (No Other Gods: Confronting Our Modern-Day Idols by Kelly Minter). I realized that idols are not just things that you “worship,” but things that motivate you, things that master and rule over you (aside from God). I never thought that I “worshiped” my work, but when I looked at it in the context of something that motivates and rules over me… I was humbled.
You see, an idol doesn’t have to be something bad, like an addiction. In fact, it can be something really good, like your profession, a hobby, a talent. But it becomes an idol when you allow it to rule over you, and when you want it too much. And certainly when you are devoting more time to it than you are to God.
I am so fortunate that I am able to work from home and raise our two children. But when I focus on my work and social media too much, I am not giving them enough of myself. My stress from work and the overstimulation I get from hopping all over the internet spills over into life at home. Instead of allowing peace from time spent in worship and meditation with the Lord flow out of me, I am frustrated and short with my family from doing too much and constantly feeling frazzled.
A moment of honesty: I started to realize that I couldn’t play with my daughter for more than 15 minutes before I HAD to turn on the TV or check my phone or my email, because I was bored… She deserves more than that from me.
So my husband and I decided that we would institute “Unplugged Sunday.” Each Sunday, we are not allowed to use electronic devices (computers, TVs, phones, iPads) – unless we have a specific chunk of time carved out to work (out of necessity), in which case we are allowed to use computers. We will spend intentional time with our kids where they have our full attention.
We tried it this weekend. I told my husband I felt like I was on vacation… I knew that being on the computer wasn’t an option, so I didn’t feel pulled to it when I was spending time with my family and I was fully present. My husband said he felt like he had done more with the kids in one day than ever before.
We built a fire and roasted hot dogs for lunch, had a picnic in the backyard, went for a walk, did some crafting, played games, cleaned the house, had dinner with my parents – I even read a BOOK. It was glorious. It was relaxing. It was quiet.
And if I hadn’t unplugged, I would have missed moments like these:
It’s a small step toward a more intentional and prioritized life for me. But I, for one, am hoping that it sticks. Because the ability to tear myself away from the unnecessary things that are grabbing my attention and pulling me from my family and my God is worth the extra effort.
{ If you are interested in unplugging and being more intentional with your time, I just found out that Small Fry Blog is asking others to join them in unplugging the TV all week long! Read more here }