Face Time

There is always a “day after” kind of feeling when a birthday is over.
My daughter enjoyed a good birthday as we celebrated her on her special day.
A lovely way to mark the end of one year and the start of another.
The telling of the story, yet again, of the day that she was born.

Whose birth was the easiest?
Whose birth was the fastest?
Questions, innocent enough until they begin to tease each other about who is the favorite.
Relentless, even as adults; the child always tucked away in their hearts.

After a lovely dinner out, it is so good to come back home.
Home to have tea and cake, open presents, and spend the time together.
Right before the candles were lit, my daughter got a call.
It was her brother face-timing her, even though he left a lengthy voice mail an hour before.

Someone had the brilliant idea to face time the other brother on another phone.
And so it began.
A high-tech birthday celebration; the sharing of cake and family moments from a distance.
Not as good as being there, but the next best thing.

I stood there amazed at the possibilities this technology afforded us.
Two family members, who could not be with us, were with us, via a small screen.
If any of us had our way, we would have rather been face-to-face and hug to hug.
Yet, they still were a part of something that otherwise they would have missed.

Nothing replaces face-to-face conversation.
But face time has it half right.
It is time to look at a face from a distance.
It is the ability to be a part of something when you are far away.

I was so grateful.

I thought of mothers who have to resort to face time while their son serves overseas.
I thought of wives who have to resort to face time while their husbands are traveling.
It is the next best thing to being there.
But not quite.

It is a substitute for the real thing.
Yet a welcome substitute, bringing the distance closer if only for a few minutes.
There is a bit of a delay in the conversation.
You are looking at the screen rather than the looking into the other person’s eyes.

I was so glad to have that face time last night.
I was so glad to have my boys in the room, if they couldn’t really be in the room.
They were a part of something that they apparently missed as well.
Family moments those miles prohibited the old-fashioned way.

By definition, face time is a bit more complicated.
Known as videotelephony is enables communication between people in real-time.
It comprises the technologies for the reception and transmission of audio-visual signals.
Users at different locations can talk together without leaving their chair.

Face time is useful to the deaf and the speech impaired.
They are able to use this technology with sign language and a video relay service.
People with mobility issues can stay connected without travel.
Corporations can have meetings and conferences without employees leaving the office.

Face time has definitely made things easier.
Face time has made the world seem smaller.
Face time will never replace actual human relationships.
Face time will never compete with a living, breathing person right in front of you.

“If you love Me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see Me anymore, but you will see Me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you. Whoever has My commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves Me. He who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I too will love him and show Myself to him.” Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But Lord, why do You intend to show Yourself to us and not to the world?” Jesus replied, “If anyone loves Me, he will obey My teaching. My Father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love Me will not obey My teaching. These words you hear are not My own; they belong to the Father who sent Me. All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all these things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”
(John 14:15-26)

The Holy Spirit acts as a sort of face time with God.
Until we see Jesus face-to-face, we have His Spirit with us.
We can talk to Him in real time from our own room and our own chair without traveling.
We are here and Jesus is at the right hand of His Father.

Until Jesus comes back and we see Him face-to-face, face time will have to do.
Face time with the Father through the Spirit in Jesus’ name.
It is the next best thing to being There.
And There is where we will be one day, if we are His.

I am so grateful.

 

2 responses to “Face Time”

1. Love spending face time with the Lord! Great analogy, Gina! And so wonderful to meet you yesterday and have face-to-face time with you!

   Reply

   • Wonderful meeting you as well, Michele!
     I pray that our paths cross again!
     Gina

     Reply