My Broken Phone Was a Gift

I haven’t been doing a good job of managing my screen time lately. I finished the digital detox challenge, which went great, but once it was over I slowly fell back into some of the same patterns.

Then last week I got in the car to begin a morning of errands, and my phone didn’t connect to CarPlay like usual. I didn’t think much of it…it does that sometimes. But while I sat in the waiting room of the doctor’s office (number one on the list of errands), I realized I had an SOS message instead of a signal. I rebooted my phone, but after only a few minutes of connectivity I just had the SOS again. So I stuck it in my purse and didn’t worry about it much anymore. I went about my morning, grocery shopped, grabbed a few sleepers for the grandbaby, stopped by the pharmacy, and picked up some peaches, plums, and tomatoes from the local fruit and vegetable stand before heading home.

When I walked in the door and was reconnected to my home wireless, a barrage of text messages and missed phone calls came in all at once. I found myself reading texts and checking to see who called as I was putting things away and trying to get settled back in at home. And it suddenly occurred to me how peaceful running errands had been. I hadn’t felt rushed and stressed out like usual because I wasn’t on my phone while trying to do all the other tasks. I didn’t text anyone between seeing the nurse and the doctor. There was no pulling my cart to the side in the grocery aisle to text someone back and then trying to refocus on what it was I was looking for. I couldn’t message my husband to see what he wanted from the produce stand, and I wondered why I even thought it was something I needed to do. I’ve been married to the man for almost twenty-seven years after all, so I know he wants tomatoes without having to ask.

I often take for granted what a miracle it is to be connected the way we are today. But I also wonder when I started feeling like I have to communicate everything I’m doing. And when did every message start feeling like an emergency, like I have to answer every question or comment right now? Just because we have the ability to constantly send and receive updates doesn’t mean it’s always the best thing to do.

A couple of years ago I stopped taking my phone into church because I found myself tempted to check it, even when I had every good intention of not doing so. And I have to say, leaving the phone in the car while I’m at Mass is the best thing I’ve ever done for my prayer life. Not having it within arm’s length eliminates its ability to distract. Now I’m thinking maybe I should expand the list of places I go without my phone. I can only remember one time in the last twenty-five years of having a cell phone that I received an emergency call while I was out of the house. One time. So maybe I’ll go back to handwritten grocery lists and start leaving my phone in the car there too.

This past week I’ve been thanking God for those few hours with a broken phone. It was enough to remind me that I have a choice. I don’t have to feel scattered and distracted, even in today’s world of constant connection, and I’m looking forward to more peaceful errand days.

Peace be with you,