I know that people wonder why I’m online all day.
If you’re my Facebook friend, you see it. The little green light beside my name is almost always glowing. If you didn’t know me, you’d think it means that I sit here in front of this screen all day and all night, pinning items on Pinterest, chatting on Facebook, playing Words with Friends and not doing much else.
“Doesn’t she homeschool? Why isn’t she diagramming sentences with Zach?”
And I’d answer, “I do. I am.”
“Isn’t she a writer? Maybe that’s why she’s always online.”
I am. And that’s part of it. Actually, if you ever see me go OFF-line, it’s because I have a deadline to meet and can no longer handle the potential distraction of having any other windows open.
But there are good reasons that I keep the computer connected to Facebook all day, even when I’m not at the screen. There are 25 of them, in fact.
Though I’ve never been there in person, and I’ve only seen their faces in photos and spoken to a few of them through Skype, my heart is tightly connected to the children at Blood of Jesus Ministries orphanage in Uganda. And this mother’s heart needs to know how her kids are doing.
Because of erratic electricity and unstable Internet service, because of busy schedules that include things like administering malaria and HIV medication, and long days teaching English, and walking several miles to town to buy maize flour, and the stress of managing the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of over 25 orphaned children, Pastor Ronald can’t always let me know when he’ll be able to get online.
But here in America, where most of us are wealthy but don’t even realize it, I have the luxury of steady electric and Internet service, and a computer right beside our homeschooling area, and a kitchen stocked with food, and the relatively minor stress of meeting the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of only 3 children. And that means I can stay connected.
And wait until I hear that little chat request “Ding!” that tells me he’s able to connect again and let me know how they’re doing.
It makes me think of how God is with us. He’s always online, always available to us, the Light is always glowing to let us know that He is there. And the joy I feel when my Ugandan friends are able to connect with me must be just a fraction of God’s joy when we log-in to where He is and just spend a little time with Him.
So, now you know why I’m always online. While I’m being Mama to my three boys, making lunch and teaching math and wiping up spills, I am also “Mama Kari” to 25 precious boys and girls who have lost their parents and need to know that somebody loves them. It’s the only way I can be available to them right now, so as much as I can, I make sure that they find me here.