The Need for Connection

People Need People.

Ahhhh . . . remember the song made popular by Barbara Streisand years ago? I still get swept away with emotion every time I hear her sing, “People . . . people who need people . . . are the luckiest people in the world.” I’m a fan of Barbara’s. But I’ll stop. This isn’t about her.

People do need people. From the very beginning, God saw that Adam was alone and it wasn’t good. So He created a companion in Eve.

We all desire companionship. But it seems to be getting increasingly difficult to find time to hang out with friends and acquaintances. Why?

My girlfriends and I have lately discussed this, but we haven’t come up with any solutions. We used to meet on a consistent basis for dinner or a movie. Now when we try to schedule something for the four of us to meet, someone inevitably has a conflict. It’s not that what’s causing the conflict is bad – or not meaningful. On the contrary. We’re all putting tremendous amount of energy into our families, personal goals, and ministries.

Several weeks ago I joined Facebook. It’s been great fun. To be honest – it can be addicting. I’m quite hooked. I’ve already made “friends” with many writer friends across the county, fellow church members, nieces, my nephew, and my own kids. It’s fascinating to read the one liners of what people are doing, feeling, and thinking. Photos are easily shared with numerous people at the same moment.

Facebook has caused me to think even more this past week about the need for people to connect with each other. In this hectic society, where people are scurrying from one thing to the next, with little time to sit down for a cup of coffee with a friend - Facebook, MySpace, Shoutlife, and numerous other online sites have become a place for people to still feel connected to other life forms.

I wonder what God thinks about a society so consumed by technology that we spend more time communicating through our computers and cell phones than face to face.

I believe connecting with people – no matter how it’s done - can be a good thing.

But I’ll always prefer sharing a bottle of wine with a good friend sitting across the table from me.

Dawn