As I write we are entering week four of the \u2018lockdown\u2019, our churches have adapted and have gone on-line, which is great to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, and this is not a rant, with the vast increases in Zoom, WhatsApp, Facetime, etc, etc, I have found myself becoming somewhat overwhelmed by the sheer volume of messages inviting me to join in to this or that group, tune in to yet another service, \u201clike\u201d yet another page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My phone is \u2018pinging\u2019 constantly!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People who know me the best will know that I\u2019m an avid user of the various Social Media forums, but I\u2019m now having to charge my phone at least twice each day to cope with the volume of on-line traffic; and my weekly \u2018screen time\u2019 has shocked me too!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although I am really encouraged by how everyone is turning to technology to keep in touch and support each other, please don\u2019t be offended if I don\u2019t automatically get involved\u2026please allow me to explain\u2026..<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1996 when I suffered my mental health breakdown which almost resulted in me taking my own life, one of my \u2018symptoms\u2019 was that I developed a \u2018Phone Phobia\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was acutely embarrassed by this at the time, but every time the phone rang, I would literally run away and hide\u2026. It was very real and quite frightening\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And I was really surprised when I was told that this is quite a common reaction to a depressive illness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, I\u2019m not suggesting for one minute that I\u2019m back in that place as, over the years, I\u2019ve learned how to deal with them when things such as this begin to get on top of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But having read over the weekend that there is something like a 46% rise in mental health issues since the outbreak of this awful pandemic, I just wonder if we\u2019re not helping ourselves by adding to things by constantly being glued to our phones and trying to be \u201call things to all men\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, I just wanted to highlight that if you\u2019re becoming a tad overwhelmed too, it\u2019s ok not to join yet another group, or to not tune in to whatever else is making those demands on you for your thumbs up emoji.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What I\u2019m saying is this; it\u2019s ok to be choosey and don\u2019t try and do everything\u2026it\u2019s not healthy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m sure that if you explain why, people will understand\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, I wouldn\u2019t want to end on a negative tone or discouraging note;<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What I am <\/em>finding really helpful is starting each day with The Lord\u2019s Word. I made the decision at the start of the year to read the whole bible in a year and after spending the last 104 days (at the time of writing) using Nicky Gumbel\u2019s \u201cBible in a Year\u201d, I\u2019m finding that tuning in to God before anything else is definitely the way forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What keeps coming back to me is this phrase, \u201cAre we prioritising our schedules or scheduling our priorities?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Just a thought\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n