The Handover
Real MOMent
Technology is great. It allows us to communicate and interact with others all over the world. During the pandemic it allowed many people to attend church online and praise God from their homes. Without technology, we would not be able to bring you this digital version of our experiences in motherhood with our children. My children benefit and enjoy technology.
I believe if my son had it his way, he would spend all day playing Madden Sports or Jurassic Park video games. Oh, let me not forget Sonic. Since seeing “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” the other weekend, he has downloaded several versions of Sonic video games on his iPad. Yes, the same blue animal that we grew up with on Sega, is still making connections 30+ years later since its initial release date.
Although at times, the iPad does help me A LOT when I need a virtual babysitter to get things done without interruption. I don’t believe my children should always be connected to technology. After going through a school year of remote learning during the pandemic, I was overly happy for my child to be connected back with classmates and away from the screens. While I am a witness that learning can be done through classes on Zoom, I believe there is great benefit being in the actual classroom with teachers and other students.
As you would imagine, my son needs no assistance around TVs and finding what he wants to watch. After instructing him to go watch the kids’ version of Sunday morning service and finding him playing videos instead, I made the final decision that two things had to happen sooner than later:
My family needed to attend church.
I needed to be more mindful of the time my son spends using technology.
and the 3rd thing that had to happen IMMEDIATELY was that my son needed to “HAND OVER HIS VIDEO GAME CONTROLLER!”
MOMent of Clarity
I am a firm believer that what happens in one household, doesn’t equate to what is needed or desired in another household for MANY reasons😊. My MOMent of clarity is strictly based on the 3 points made in the Real MOMent above. However, they are not only aligned with my son, as there are opportunities present for myself as well.
1. My family needed to attend church.
My son getting caught playing the game vs. watching services online was honestly just the straw that broke the camel’s back in my decision to start the process of getting my family back in the church building. Don’t get me wrong, we had greatly benefited and been truly blessed with the opportunity to watch online services. During this time, we have even started listening to preachers around the country and joined their online service from time to time. Technology (again) is great! But just like our year in homeschool, while I tried my best to be the best teacher and at times classmate to my son that I could be, the remote learning experience just doesn’t compare to being in school physically. I have come to learn nothing “for us,” can replace the feeling of being in the room/at church with other believers in Christ. Some might feel the same way about home workouts vs going into the actual gym. Others might be able to relate to watching a thriller on your TV at home vs. going to the actual movies.
While this blog is aligned to mothers and individuals that have a connection to children and their spiritual growth vs dating or marriage, going to church and praising God shoulder to shoulder with my husband hits different at church, “for us.” Much like our need to have intentional date nights to connect with one another without the constant interruptions from the children, we needed that same intentional time to praise God and continue to connect spiritually without the potty breaks, making sure videos games are not being played, or all the other things that were happening during that time at home.
2. I needed to be more mindful of the time my son spends using technology.
After that Sunday, my son’s game time was greatly reduced from daily to weekends only. While I feel it is important for him to enjoy what he loves, there needs to be restrictions. There are many other things he can do related to his education, going outside now that the weather is warming up, or starting new hobbies that do not require a video game remote controller being in his hand. The same applies to me and my usage of technology (i.e., my phone or undying love for Netflix!) I learned during past seasons of Lent when removing social media as something that I am giving up during that period, my online shopping went up, my searches on Pinterest increased, and interaction in various text chats (Hey Girls Hey!) were at an all-high time. For me, my restrictions needed to be on the phone PERIOD and not just one specific app! While there are GREAT resources online, especially one of my favorite blog sites “Real Moms, Real Life, Realer Christ” (tee hee), being constantly engaged with technology can limit time connecting to Christ, my family, and personal goals which do not necessarily require my phone (read the blog piece my sister in Christ/coauthor Allison wrote “Quiet Time” for ideas on how to find peace and clarity in a quiet space).
3) My son needed to “HAND OVER HIS VIDEO GAME CONTROLLER!”
Ultimately, while my son needed to hand over the remote, I needed to hand over “MY” excuses related to the pandemic for not going back to church. I started going to brunch meetups, concerts, and other places (with precautions), but still was delayed in going back to church. What were my actions saying to my children about how I am prioritizing spending time with God? I also needed to add restrictions to my phone usage and Netflix watching- Oh how I live for a good Netflix series.
Like many of us, I have so many things that require my attention. However, there are many things that get my attention, but it is not needed. Those things take away time that I could be spending with God, but handing these excuses over now!
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