A World In Disconnect—Maybe—Maybe Not!

My musings this weekend our exactly what the title of this devotion says! In our society today we have tons of disconnect. Kids sit together and instead of talking, they text each other. Community and civic activities are down over 62% from 2015. Since the pandemic, there is more isolation than ever before. In other words, we have isolated ourselves from one another and if we do that too long our health takes a hit and our spiritual life flattens.

A few years ago, I read a book by Harvard professor Robert Putnam called Bowling Alone, which documents the decline in community life in America since the 1960s. The statistics are overwhelming and sad. God has given us so much to share with others and we seem to do better now hiding from one another-yikes!

Well, I want to share a few stories today that you may think would be a real disconnect, but it was the connections that my heart, soul and mind will never forget! Get your tissues out…

You all may know about the Continental Divide trail from the border of Mexico ending at the border in Canada. Hikers and cyclers from around the world come to do this. Sadly, we had a wildfire which cut-off part of that trail so the hikers were diverted 30 miles away-ugh! We decided to use our volunteer area for them to tent, picnic, fill up water bottles, shower, etc. Here is one instance that happened: We had 16 in the area; 2 from the Czech Republic, 1 from Sweden, 2 from Norway, 4 from the Netherlands, 1 from Spain, 1 from Maine, 3 from Ukraine, and 2 from Russia. There was no disconnect, just stories to tell, laughter, and a fabulous bonding by sharing emails to stay in touch. But…yep, always a but—I noticed the 2 young men from Russia enjoyed it but said very little. Their English was not very good but for some reason—well, it was the Holy Spirit actually—that was prodding me. She knew I felt that these 2 men needed something. So, I asked them what terminus they would be at once they got to the Canadian border; it was Waterton Peace Park that borders Glacier Park. They looked at each other and were very nervous; and it was then when the Spirit gave me the question so I asked: “Are you planning to defect?” Now the group was quiet as a mouse…

The boys said they were cousins (they looked like twins)! Stovol was a bit shy, but answered me: “Yes ma’am, and we are not afraid to do that. We cannot live in Russia anymore. They are hurting others in Ukraine and we have family there. We fear for our lives and families because of Putin.” Now the 3 girls from Ukraine came around them, and one-by-one the others did, too. Stovol said “we knew if we came to North America, we would be safe and have a new life that we must need. Now we do this and then go to university then we can get our families over here, too.” What happened next? The three girls from Ukraine started to sing the national anthem of Ukraine, the Russian boys did and the rest chimed in in many languages! One of the campers across from us came down and shared stories with the group as they were originally from Poland! And it went on for a few hours of people from around the globe connecting with one another. I cried with joy listening to their laughter and the fun in figuring out one another’s languages. I also heard God rejoicing over his beloved children.

Maybe we, too, can drop our disconnect from each other and do the same thing? That old saying from Solomon’s wisdom in Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 [NLT] is spot-on: “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.”

God never created us to live life alone. So even if you struggle to make friends do your best and try to do it anyway! Stay involved with one another, there are so many ways to do that. Not only will you be encouraged, you now have a powerful platform to build meaningful relationships and share the Gospel with others. By the way, if you need any help doing this, I have 16 kids from around the world that can show you just how to do it! AMEN.