I do a lot of my pastoral check ups via various messaging apps, and there are times when I feel guilty about that ¹. Today, however, I reached out to someone via text and was thankful for it.

This particular congregant has been dealing with vocal issues, and therefor has to rest their voice a lot. I’ll call from time to time, but the conversations have to be short and I often feel like I’ve done more harm than good for the person because they strain their voice to converse with me. At the same time, this person is so gracious and loving I want to make sure they know they are loved and remembered.

Thankfully, this person has an iPhone and knows how to use it. They are eager to engage in text exchanges, and I’ll even start off a conversation by sharing a recent photo of Bump for them to see. As we exchange messages I can hear this person’s voice inside my head, and it feels like my pastoral connection with them is strengthened. It’s very cool, and keeps us chatting at a time when it is almost medically impossible for a vocal conversation to take place. Pretty cool.

Thank God for texting.