I mentioned in a previous post how I deactivated my Facebook account. I am not against Facebook. I love how family can see photos of my kids even though they are out of town, and how I can keep up with college and high school acquaintances I would not normally call or email.
For months, maybe even the past year, I'd pray to the Lord that I would experience Him more. That I would "make room" for Him in my life. Day after day, I would check my Facebook a ridiculous amount of times. It kind of just became a habit born from boredom. I would find when the kids were playing nicely or eating their meals I would sneak into the other room and "refresh" my newsfeed. It got to the point where it just felt gross. I would be annoyed with the people who complain about nothing, jealous of the people with perfectly edited photos, and felt down when we would not have plans for a weekend and I would see others out doing fun things. I also got the embarrassing weird "high" when I would see I had numerous Facebook notifications... which I guess equated in my mind, "people must like me or be thinking of me!"
I would try to balance my time on there but it wasn't easy. So one day I just logged in, deactivated my account and went on with my day. I've honestly loved it. Yes there are moments where I miss knowing what's going on in other people's lives. But I have also been questioning if we need to know what is going on in other people's lives.
I am not being legalistic with being on or off Facebook. But I do find myself wanting to be on for funny reasons. Example: My birthday is in May and I wanted to reactivate my account so people could send me birthday messages. Haha. Or I wanted to reactivate it so I can see if anyone is naming their baby the same name we are thinking of.
Here are a few blog posts that really helped me think through social media and the place it takes in my life/heart. The truth is our heart is only so big; it only has the capacity to "hold" so much. If we want the Lord to fill it and make room in our lives we have to make room for Him. I hope you are all finding ways to "make room" for the Lord in your life. If you have any ways the Lord is teaching/calling you to "make room," share them with me!!
http://bencrawfordlife.com/2012/12/29/social-media-replacing-the-quantity-with-quality/
http://www.relevantmagazine.com/culture/tech/stop-instagramming-your-perfect-life
2 comments:
This is so good Elizabeth! I have been thinking about doing the same thing lately...it's just so hard for me to let go of what I will be missing in people's lives- I also use Facebook as a ministry to encourage and connect with a lot of people I normally wouldn't be able to. But, I think your thoughts on making more room for God are profound. I would love to hear more about those thoughts! :)
Love your transparency Eliz!!! So good.
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