God Running is a place for anyone who wants to love Jesus more deeply, follow Jesus more closely, and love people the way Jesus wants us to.
As I continue to work my way through St. Thérèse’s The Story of a Soul (I’m listening to the audio version btw, it’s beautifully narrated by Benjamin Crow) I’m struck by something St. Thérèse does daily. After reading that first sentence I just wrote, it occurs to me that one might think I’m about to point to her daily prayers, or her daily reading of scripture, or her daily thoughts “about the good God, about the shortness of life, and about eternity.”
Those daily habits are foundational and important, for sure. But what struck me is that throughout St. Thérèse’s entire life, every day, St. Thérèse spent time with other human beings, in real life, human-to-human, physically present.
This series is about following Jesus when we’re exhausted, and I know for some of us in real life human-to-human physically present time can be a stretch, but, the more we can muster up the energy to do it, the better The Little Way of St. Thérèse works. Doing what we do in love is just communicated to others more effectively when we’re in person with the people we’re actively loving. That’s what I’ve found in my own experience and from my observation of others. But it’s not just me. Consider this quote from a Princeton University study:
“Face-to-face interaction is the gold standard of human communion. It comprises the majority of individuals’ daily reported interactions, particularly those between close connections (Baym et al., 2004; Macdonald et al., 2021; Subrahmanyam et al., 2020). Additionally, it is the only form of interaction experienced early in human development (Davies, 2012). Face-to-face interaction offers the richest form of interaction, with its synchronously exchanged, multimodal social cues (Sauppé & Mutlu, 2014; Tanis & Postmes, 2003). Specifically, face-to-face communication helps to transmit nonverbal information, including posture, facial expression, direction of gaze, and physical gestures, which promote unambiguous, fluid interactions. Consequently, it reliably engenders feelings of social connection (Pea et al., 2012; Wohn et al., 2017), relationship satisfaction (Goodman-Deane et al., 2016), positive affect (Drolet & Morris, 2000), psychological well-being (Chan, 2018; Marinucci et al., 2022; Subrahmanyam et al., 2020), workplace productivity (Battiston et al., 2020), and decreased stress (Ono et al., 2011). The more “lifelike” a social interaction, the more strongly people will experience these positive outcomes. Indeed, less natural exchanges can even make people feel more isolated and unsatisfied (Petrova & Schulz, 2022).” (Nathan Liang,Samantha J. Grayson,Mia A. Kussman,Judith N. Mildner,Diana I. Tamir)
“We find that voice calls, group calls, and online messaging generally predict increased feelings of well-being. However, the benefits associated with face-to-face interactions reliably eclipsed all virtual surrogates under investigation.” (Nathan Liang,Samantha J. Grayson,Mia A. Kussman,Judith N. Mildner,Diana I. Tamir)
So we find that voice calls, group calls, and online messaging are helpful. And maybe if you’re mustering all the grace God gave you, that’s the best you can do. But if you’re able, if you can find the strength to do so, be intentional about engaging in face-to-face real life conversation.
That’s something St. Thérèse did every day. Her little way involved connecting with other human beings face-to-face.
She engaged in “the gold standard of human communion.”
You and I will love people more effectively if we do the same.
Notes
Thérèse of Lisieux, The Story of a Soul, narrated by Benjamin Crow, Audible, December 27, 2023
Thérèse of Lisieux, The Little Way: Reflections on the Joy of Smallness in God’s Infinite Love, Whitaker House, April 4, 2023
Nathan Liang, Samantha J. Grayson, Mia A. Kussman, Judith N. Mildner, Diana I. Tamir, In-person and virtual social interactions improve well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic, Computers in Human Behavior Reports, Volume 15, 2024, 100455, ISSN 2451-9588, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2024.100455. Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
