When feeling disconnected…

I have been having an issue with my cell phone. All calls went directly to voicemail. People said it never even rang…just…voicemail.

If I was doing anything on the phone at the time of the call…it didn’t even register as a missed call.

So weird.

When one of our offspring had to call twice on Mother’s Day to let me know she was thinking of me…well that was the last straw so I said an earnest and sincere prayer to not get snarly and called technical support.

Thankfully the prayer worked and the gal on the other end worked patiently and kindly through multiple trouble shooting possibilities (and I behaved through the whole process, hallelujah!)….

After about 20 minutes she got an ah-ha moment and asked me to see if I had somehow turned the “Do Not Disturb” button on.

The what?

Yeah.

I didn’t even know it existed, but somehow I had turned on a button that, of course, ignores all calls, hence the name…

We found the problem and it was me.

I have been thinking a lot about that, of course, because that’s what I do…

I think of times in my life when I have felt kind of disconnected and lonely.

And quite often, in those times, it is highly likely that I have accidentally turned on the “Do Not Disturb” without realizing it…

Things like insecurity, self-absorption, self-pity, and even a critical spirit, all send out a message to anyone trying to connect with me that I am unavailable for communication.

And the more space I am given, the more isolated I feel….leading to more of the behaviors that push people away.

We can all get caught up in these cycles.

When we do, we begin to think that all the negative thoughts we have about ourselves are the reality of other’s minds….when, actually, WE are the ONLY one thinking them…sigh…

What are we to do??

I think the best way to turn off the “Do Not Disturb” is to start serving others…start reaching out to others…start turning our focus off of self and onto God….

And don’t be surprised, after a while, if your life becomes a massive, on-going group texting conversation of JOY <3