I recently finished a book by one of my favourite authors who goes by the name Francine Rivers. She’s a Christian writer who writes mostly about women thrown into various life situations. I particularly like a series she did based on the life and times of the early Christians (about the year 150 AD) and the way they were persecuted in Rome. Crazy, heart wrenching stuff. Mark of the Lion series it was called if anyone would like to search for it. This book I recently read was called “Leota’s Garden”. Throughout the whole book the author compares Gods love for us as the love someone would show to a garden they are tending. The careful mulching, weeding and fertilizing, the occasional pruning and plucking-All this working towards ensuring the garden did not grow wild but was structured and beautiful.

Over my last year of campus I stayed with my sis and her awesome family. There was this rule that my bro in law said he’d expect me to abide by now that I was staying with them cause he had noticed I was always (and I mean, ALWAYS) on my phone either texting or checking my social media accounts online. At the time I was absolutely shocked at what he was asking me to do because I dint think my phone obsession was thaaat bad. He basically asked that while I was in the living areas of their home if I would kindly refrain from using my phone and should I want to use it do so in the confines of my bedroom. That was gonna be hard for me- I used to like sitting in the living room and texting while guys were watching tv or at the breakfast table when I was alone but now I would have to wait until I could excuse myself to my room before doing all that we young guys do on our mobiles nowadays. Wah! Very hard indeed!! To make you understand how attached I am to my phone I will say I literally walk through town while texting or sometimes I’d do soo in class…did I say this was going to be hard??

So why had he asked me to abide by this rule? He’s pretty cool in that he actually explained it to me and dint just force it down my throat as if I was a child (though he does consider me his baby sister-the curse of being one of the last borns). He said whenever I was on my phone I locked out the rest of the world and it became such that I was never really in the living room with them. I wasn’t spending quality time just hanging out with them because I was forever distracted by my mobile. My argument was I can multi-task by watching tv, texting and conversing with them at the same time but think about it: if you go for a date is it very polite to answer a call or text CONSTANTLY during the date? It’s the same thing at home. And I understood. Partly though; I still felt sometimes it was a pretty intense rule.

Until recently that is. I moved back home with my mom awhile back and since my mom was mostly on her own because us younger kids were off at school she was craving company. We haven’t talked this much in ages. And now I see the whole picture. Every family needs family time; that time when guys just sit and stare at the tv while discussing news (or as my mom loves to do discussing my family history, hehe) But we need to be available for that especially if we as a family haven’t really set a time for doing that. And being available means spending some time in the living areas of the house not constantly locked up in the bedroom on your computer or phone.

Just like a garden people require guidance in their growth….rules. For me the rule was no phone use and it was hard for me to do but for it I am a better person-a structured beautiful rose bush. Rules aren’t there to inconvenience me…. though at 1st that’s how they’ll seem.