We look at time differently, as well. In our parents and grandparents day, folks took more time with things in which we don't seem to place the same level of importance. Mostly I'm thinking about personal relationships. They took time to visit, to stop and talk with friends when they met them unexpectedly. They visited their neighbors, shared part of the latest batch of cookies they had just made, helped repair that fence or paint the house. Today, our lives are ruled by how much we can get done in the shortest amount of time and how long we can continue doing it.

We plan our days and then work at the plan. Of course that is not all bad. We are supposed to manage our lives wisely, aren't we? I do that so it must be alright! Right? I generally spend part of my early mornings corresponding and writing. However, I think that I may have discovered that I've fallen into a trap. As I have been reviewing my typical day lately, I've found myself far too often jotting off a quick email note rather than picking up the phone and calling personally or making a visit. It is more efficient to do this cyberspace-style, isn't it? I can stay in contact with more people, over a greater distance, in less time. So, I am a better manager, right? We are, after all, only a keystroke away. That is what I told a friend recently.

Something is lost in all of this. It is the personal part of relationships. There is something about the sound of the voice of my friends or the clasp of a handshake that warms my heart. Yes, it feels good to receive an email from a friend, but I feel more of a sense of peace, a sense of warmth and encouragement, when we talk.

We need cyberspace and face-to-face communication.

I know that you are sitting at your computer reading this thought. You are comfortable, you are protected, you are safe and spam filtered as you sit in that chair and only a keystroke — the delete button — away from removing anything you don't like. But, let me encourage you to make some personal contact with someone today — perhaps someone you haven't talked with or visited with for far too long. You need the contact. You both need the encouragement.

The writer of the book of Hebrews puts it this way:

But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness" (Hebrews 3:13 NIV).

If You Want to Walk on Water You've Got to Get Out of the Boat by John Ortberg John Ortberg invites you to consider the incredible potential that awaits you outside your comfort zone, out on the risky waters of faith.

Russ Lawson is a former missionary to Africa and minister in Ohio. He now works with World Christian Literature Outreach and writes a weekly email devotional, Messages from the Heart. For more information about Russ, click here.

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