Wonderment

I had to make a return.
I entered the first set of doors and saw a man directly in front of me.
He was wearing long gym shorts, a t-shirt, and sneakers.
He was making a wide turn right in front of the entrance.

I decided that he must be a mall walker.
So many people walk inside the mall on hot, humid days.
The climate controlled conditions provide a perfect location for exercise.
I actually made a mental note that I had not walked that morning because of the heat.

A twinge of conviction as I picked up the pace to somehow make up for my missed walk.
I made a Scarlet O’Hara promise of, I’ll think about it tomorrow, after I check the weather.
I went to the department I needed to go to in order to make my return.
I talked to the girl at the counter and even met someone else I knew on the way out.

I left the store and entered the mall ready to go out to my car.
Out of nowhere, a man walked directly in front of me.
I stopped short but he kept right on going.
He never said, Excuse me, in fact he never even saw me.

It was the mall walker.
Same gym shorts, same t-shirt, and same sneakers.
He never looked up at all.
He was staring at his phone.

I convicted him in my head.
I had him tried and found guilty in my mental court of law.
Charged with reading emails on your phone as you walk.
Then I realized that I made an incorrect assessment.

He was so engrossed in whatever was on his screen, I wanted to see what it was.
Since he was directly on front of me and since I had to stop so that we did not collide, I looked.
It was then I realized what he was doing.
He was playing Pokemon Go.

I could see the virtual world on his screen.
I could see him looking down and around him as he tried to find the allusive characters.
No one was with him; he was not conversing with anyone.
He was in his own virtual world.

It made me sad.
He was in a world within a world.
He was in a world that did not exist in reality as he walked in a world that did exist.
He was looking for characters that are not real while ignoring people right in front of him.

Pokemon Go is a free-to-play, location-based augmented reality game developed and published by Niantic for iOS and Android devices. It was initially released in selected countries in July 2016. In the game, players use a mobile device’s GPS capability to locate, capture, battle, and train virtual creatures, called Pokemon, who appear on the screen as if they were in the same real-world location as the player. (Wikipedia)

I thought he was mall walking for exercise.
He was really hunting for things that did not exist.
There was some sort of satisfaction in finding virtual figures that were hiding from view.
The mall was apparently a PokeStop where many of these characters could be found.

There has been much criticism surrounding the game.
The app was criticized for using certain locations and memorials as sties to catch Pokemon.
The U.S. Holocaust Museum, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum were used.
Arlington National Cemetery was another location where people gathered to play.

There has been dangerous traffic congestion, littering, and noise complaints.
One woman got stuck in a tree as she climbed it to search for Pokemon.
Emergency personnel had to rescue her when she could not get down.
She was terribly embarrassed.

I walked out to my car a bit sad at what I just witnessed.
The man was totally oblivious to the real world all around him.
His focus was on his phone and on characters that do not exist.
He looked down at a virtual reality and totally missed the beauty and wonder all around him.

I found myself singing the chorus of a Keith and Kristyn Getty song in my head.

I’ve seen days melt into nights in circles of lights,
I’ve watched a spider spin a star between the window box flowers,
I’ve heard you laugh and cry in a single sigh,
And a story form within.

(Chorus)
Don’t let me lose my wonder,
Don’t let me lose my wonder.

I saw her broken dreams inside but helping others fly,
I saw his eyes without a doubt though other lights faded out,
And though her calling roared, such graciousness poured
From the vision of her soul.

A baby cried through the dark beneath a jeweled spark,
I knew Your voice upon the hill and heard my lostness still,
I found my home in the light where wrong was made right
And You rose as the morning star.

Don’t let me lose my wonder, I repeated.

Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders You have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to You; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare. (Psalm 40:5)

Don’t let me lose my wonder, Lord.
Don’t let me miss all You are doing all around me.
Don’t let me miss the subtle things because I am preoccupied with things that don’t matter.
Your wonders are too many to count.

We do not need an app to find God’s wonders.
We need not spend time in a virtual reality when His marvelous wonders are all around us.
We must spend more time looking up and less time looking down at our worldly toys.
May that be our prayer today: Don’t let me lose my wonder.

Amen.