The Value of Human Contact

And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.   –Luke 5:16

The other day I was outside and while swatting at what I thought was a bug that had landed on my neck (it turned out to be a leaf), I dropped my cell phone.  And when I say dropped it, I mean I really dropped it.  The fall was from about the level of my face and the phone fell to the concrete patio.  The damage was complete and I ended up acquiring a new phone.  I was able to salvage all my pictures from the old phone, but I haven’t been able to do the same with my contacts.  I will have to reenter those manually.  Having those contacts is important.

I say this because my phone contacts illustrate the need for human contact.  All those names and numbers represent people I know in one way or another.  Relationships can be difficult and at times exhausting, yet we all need them because we need human interaction.  Remove human contact from our lives and we run the risk of becoming lonely and bitter.  This isn’t to say we do not need a little time to ourselves, because we all do.  Someone has coined the phrase “me time” to describe time we spend alone.  Getting away from daily interactions for a while to rest, reflect, and regenerate is vitally important to overall health.  The Bible shows how even Jesus took time to get away by Himself for prayer and personal renewal.  Jesus was empowered then to come back to His relationships refreshed and prepared to minister to and encourage the people around Him.

Happy and well-adjusted people typically have a network of support and relationships built into their lives.  They choose to live within this framework of interaction with others rather than isolation.  Cutting ourselves off from the support of others is dangerous.  Keep involved, continue reaching, out, and keep making a positive difference in the world through helping others.  You might say, ‘What about all the toxic people in my life?”  My answer is work around them, don’t let them get you down, and distance yourself from them if you have to.  Remember the only person you can change and control is you. 

Have relationships burned you out or hurt you?  Is there something you’d like to get off your chest today?  Please let me know how I can pray for you.

God bless you – it’s going to be a great day.