We are over half way through Lent right now. Lent is the 40 days leading up to Easter in which Christians remember the sacrifices Christ made on our behalf. Some demonimations (mainly Catholic) practice giving something up for Lent. Usually, the thing you give up is something that is keeping you from Christ and the time you spend with the thing you gave up, you should spend in prayer.
I don't do this every year, mainly because it is not commonly practiced in my denomination (Presbyterian) but last year I decided to give up social media. I had realized that I had become almost addicted to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. I checked it on my phone at least 20 times a day. It was getting ridiculous. So I decided to give it up, cold turkey. The first 2-3 weeks were really, really hard. I kept thinking to myself, what if something happens and I dont know about it? And how will my "friends" know what is going on in my life?! I almost had a panic attack from being "unconnected". I'd like to tell you that everytime I felt this way, I turned to God in prayer. Well I didn't. I did find myself praying more during this time, but I am not sure if that was because I needed God's guidence as we looked for a house or not! Towards the end of Lent it was easier, and I found myself enjoying the moment instead of sharing it with the world.
On Easter Sunday, I got right back on Social Media and was a bit ashamed of myself. I was right back in the thick of things, reading statuses, looking at pictures, sharing posts. So when Lent came around this year, I thought of doing the same thing. But time got away from me and I never deactivated it. I felt pretty bad about myself, that I was so wrapped up in social media that I forgot when Lent started. Then the last few weeks happened...
I have a friend who is in the process of adopting a little girl. Her and her husband have been this little girls mama and daddy for two years, but now they are having to fight to keep her. She posted on Facebook the need for prayers, that their struggle was about to get tougher - so I prayed.
My former boss at the first company I worked for posted something about her job. After messaging her I found out that hers was one of 53 positions eliminated the day before, and that two more former coworkers were affected. Having lived through a layoff I knew what they were going through - so I prayed.
Another high school friend has been in the NICU for 12 weeks with her daughter who was born at 23 weeks at 1 lb 6 oz. She had twins but one of them passed away the day she was born. Her daughter is now 1 oz shy of 4 lbs and drank 32 cc of a bottle last week. I can't even imagine the emotions she goes through on a daily basis, but I am so glad she is sharing her story. I can't help her any other way - so I prayed.
Social media can be a very ugly thing. People use it as a platform to say hurtful things about others. But last week I realized that social media can be a great thing. These three women are not what I consider "best" friends of mine. We are all friends, but we probably would have lost touch if it hadn't been for social media. Becuase they chose to share there stories, I and others have been able to pray for them.
So I won't be giving up social media again any time soon. Among all the crazies out there, are my friends, who share stories about their lives and struggles, and read about mine. And if we can offer an encouraging word to one another and most importantly pray for each other - then social media is not so bad after all.
(And no, I never gave anything up for Lent)
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