I ran into a friend at the farmer’s market on Saturday, someone I hadn’t seen in many months. We paused between boxes of apples, happy to chat and catch up. A few moments into the conversation, her phone rang with a gentle chime. She took it out, smiled, and said, “It’s time to breathe. Do you want to breathe with me?”
Charmed, I replied, “That sounds like a fine idea!” So the two of us closed our eyes, and as people jostled past and farmers called out prices of fruit, for half a minute we rested our hearts in deep breath and silent prayer.
When we reentered the world around us, my friend grinned. “I figure that in medieval times we’d have had the church bells to remind us to stop and be quiet and remember God,” she said, “So I found a ring tone that chimes, and set my smartphone to do the same thing several times a day.”
Brilliant. Restful. Devotional. Try it.
