"Off" Facebook Part One

Well, it's been a month since deciding to let Facebook go. Well, sort of. Actually, I'm still on it, even though I'm "off" it. I still keep in touch with people via messages and still have my honey page open. but that's it. I don't look at the news feed...AT ALL. I actually put a sheet/ blanket, my hand, anything to cover up seeing what's on News Feed.

If you are reading this you many either be a friend or some random person who stumbled upon this post in your google/bing search. Whichever, please don't be alarmed; I'm not going to bash Facebook or people still "on" it. In fact, a couple years ago, I went to a gathering once where the people were so full of their own "coolness" because they weren't on Facebook, it was nauseating. That somehow, that meant they had a life and the people on Facebook, by default, don't.

Never the one to shut up simply because I'm the only one that thinks a certain way in a crowd...I had no problem gently pointing out to all these very "cool" people that Facebook actually has a LOT to recommend it! The amount of encouragement I've received and I hope have given over the years can NOT be measured. The laughs and the rejoicing with, the prayers and the shared sadness over things that concern dear friends, distant friends, once upon a time friends, has been WONDERFUL. And I wouldn't trade that for anything.

I miss it even now.

But, I found, that though there are some wonderful blessings of being a part of this sort of culture we call Facebook, I found my very soul was being distracted and even pelted by themes, thoughts and sometimes even lies I had to continually combat throughout the day. It was like I was putting myself in a lovely minefield time after time.

Until one day, about a month ago, a mine blew up and I didn't even know it until I leaned closer to the computer to understand what I was looking at, because my mind could not make sense of it. And when I finally realized what I was looking at, my soul trembled and cries came out of me that I haven't heard since I was in labor.

You know, I used to look at the news feed in Facebook about 3 times a day...at least. (And no, as far as time taken from my day, for me, that wasn't excessive. Trust me, I came from a place of "excessive" a number of years ago, thank you LORD!) Anyway, I loved it! I loved seeing what friends (close/distant/once upon a time) were up to and doing and where they were going...I loved sharing in the same! I loved praying with and being prayed for when needs arose. I even loved being in the know about politics and doing my own sticking my neck out instead of sticking it in the sand type promotion...but the thing is...we can't see these kinds of things and not be affected. In the space of less than a minute, my view of the news feed on Facebook was altered. (an aside: If that doesn't give great hope for the deep struggles of our lives, I don't know what does! In a moment in time, He can change us. He is ABLE...and it has to start with His Son.)

God says, "The Lot is tossed into the lap, and the dividing of it is of the Lord." 

I trust in the sovereignty of God, while understanding that though we are to be wise, we are NOT to be wise in the venues of evil. To that end, I believe I was never meant to see what I saw, to KNOW it in it particulars. It was a picture...it wasn't an event in my life. There is a huge difference. But because I was willful and naïve, I think the Lord allowed this breach...reminding me to be "careful little eyes...little ears...little hands...little feet."

A greater caution: listen to the warnings He gives along the way...there were so many, yet I shrugged them off. Had I listened, perhaps my now repulsed response to Facebook would not be so extreme. Perhaps I would have simply blocked certain persons and still enjoyed the many benefits I still believe Facebook can offer...I think it is a freedom we have that I can no longer enjoy. The fact of the matter is, I actually hate entering Facebook territory now. For those that know me...It's like having to answer the phone.

It was told to me that we need to know about this kind of evil in the world so we can better defend against it. My heart cries, we are not God. This fact may be one of the reasons He wrote Romans 16:19 "...but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil." Perhaps he also wrote it to keep us from feeling too much of "the weight of what [life] brings and the hurt that tries to grab..."

Getting "off" Facebook is FOR ME simply one more step in the process of releasing this world...because the truth that I cling to is...

"There Will Be A Day"
By Jeremy Camp

I try to hold on to this world with everything I have
But I feel the weight of what it brings, and the hurt that tries to grab
The many trials that seem to never end, His word declares this truth,
that we will enter in this rest with wonders anew

But I hold on to this hope and the promise that He brings
That there will be a place with no more suffering

[Chorus]
There will be a day with no more tears, no more pain, and no more fears
There will be a day when the burdens of this place, will be no more, we'll see Jesus face to face
But until that day, we'll hold on to you always

I know the journey seems so long
You feel you're walking on your own
But there has never been a step
Where you've walked out all alone

[Chorus]

Troubled soul don't lose your heart
Cause joy and peace he brings
And the beauty that's in store
Outweighs the hurt of life's sting

I can't wait until that day where the very one I've lived for

always will wipe away the sorrow that I've faced

To touch the scars that rescued me from a life of shame and misery this is why this is why I sing

 

 

"Off" Facebook Part Two will be brief and deal with what I do now with all this extra time I have on my hands! I Jest! Sorry, I still have the same 24hrs I always did...and they still get gone :) But there are things that I've learned and would like to share in being off the news feed! Will do so soon~ Thanks for reading! ~Alicha