Friends

One of the things that I enjoy about Facebook is the ability to keep up with what’s happening in my friend’s lives without having to work very hard.  I can see pictures of this friend’s trip to Disney and follow the exploits of the child of this friend without ever interacting with those friends.  (One of the things I HATE about Facebook is how opinionated and stupid some of my friends sound with their posts and links, but that’s a topic for another blog.)

As I am writing today, I am on a train from Fort Worth to Lincoln, IL, to spend some time with my mom, who is on hospice.  I woke up this morning in St. Louis and decided to move to the Observation Car to see the beauty of Southern/Central Illinois in the winter (note sarcasm, please).  About 7:30 this morning, my phone rang and the name was one of an old friend that I haven’t talked to in entirely too long.  We chatted about his recent trip to South America, my mom’s illness, church work, my future plans, the upcoming Super Bowl, etc.  It was a much-needed talk.

And it got me thinking.  Too often in our connected/digital/technology-driven world, we are satisfied with the illusion of community instead of meaningful community.  I would contend that, despite our ability to easily connect with friends and loved ones in unprecedented ways (Facebook, blogs, Twitter, FaceTime), we are lonelier than we’ve ever been.  In a world of fantasy sports and fantasy sex, we have settled for fantasy community.  And our souls are more damaged because of it.

My friend, Steven, simply used his morning commute to reconnect with a friend.  And it made my day.  Seeing pics of his sweet family on Facebook is one thing; hearing the love in his voice for his amazing wife and beautiful kid is something entirely different.

And sacred.

And real.

And just what I needed to hear in the midst of a difficult stretch.