Putting the Phone Down

My name is Annie and I have an addiction. I use it every day. I fall asleep by it. I wake up and look at it. I carry it into the living room when my family watches TV. I check it many, many times a day. I have a phone addiction.

I have a phone addiction, yes, it is true. My phone is almost like an appendage. I never leave the house without it and I usually never even walk around the house without holding it (alright, that's only sometimes true). I don't text that much, but I always have my phone.

Krista said that I should be able to still text in Africa (we leave in yikes, three days!). However, I am pretty sure Pastor said to either not take our cell phones or that we will leave them in the van before we enter the airport, because we won't need our phones. So, I am really trying to tell myself that I just won't have my cell phone. Krista said she was going to find a way to take her phone and that it was one of her concerns. I know that if I took my phone, it isn't like I would be using it when my attention needed to be elsewhere. You know, like on a service or to the people.

"Aim to take as little as possible, and you’ll still probably take too much. If you find yourself always behind a shutter button, try leaving behind your camera. If you take an hour primping every morning, leave behind those gel bottles and hair dryer. If minute-by-minute communication is your breath, consider leaving behind the iPhone and the laptop." -Christine Jeske [source]

Africa is already making me step out of my comfort zone, perhaps I should think of it as a time to grow closer to God, and not closer to my cell phone. It isn't going to be easy being without my phone for ten days. But, here's the thing: I can survive without my cellphone. It will be alright. I would love to text people and be in communication with people, let them know what's going on, or let them know how much I feel out of place. I would love to. I have a feeling that I am not supposed to bring my cellphone. And not just because Pastor was like, "You don't need to bring your cell phones." But because I think God wants me to get rid of some of the noise around me.

This post must make it so clear that I am a 21st century American teenager.