Christmas Presence

Apple just posted their most recent advertisement (check it out here if you can't see the embed below):



The title of this affecting ad is "Misunderstood." I get it--the teen seems so out of touch and disconnected from everyone in his family, yet he's apparently totally present with everyone around him as he captures Christmas memories on his iPhone.

Only, he's not. 

He's still staring at a screen. He's not having conversations with people or looking people in the eye. He's capturing the moment but he's not in the moment.

I don’t want my childrens' primary image of me to be with my head down on the laptop or the cellphone.

I want to be with my family this Christmas season.

Available. Approachable. Aware.

Present.

It's so tempting for me to check my phone or jump on my laptop or mentally tune out while my kids are playing around me. Even now, I'm typing this as my toddler daughter crawls around me pulling herself up and stretching her hands up to be held. I'm so easily distracted from what is most important.

What if we gave our friends and families presence this Christmas season? Instead of making sure we're taking an awesome Instagram photo of the moment or updating our Facebook status to let the Internet world know of our whereabouts, let's leave our phones in our pockets and purses and just be together. So get off your computer and go be present with those you love this Christmas season!

Joel Mayward is a pastor, writer, husband, and father living in Langley, British Columbia. He’s been serving in youth ministry since 2003, and is currently the Pastor of Youth and Young Adult Ministries at North Langley Community Church. A writer for numerous youth ministry publications and author of Leading Up: Finding Influence in the Church Beyond Role and Experience, Joel writes about youth ministry, film, theology, and leadership at his blog, joelmayward.blogspot.ca.