Originally published Thursday, 08 June 2017.
I have debated on deactivating my Facebook account many times over the years, and sometimes I was brave enough to take the plunge, yet it always seems to suck me back into it's time-wasting vortex.
EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.
I have started to ask myself why this is.
With the invention of smart phones and these (often anti) social media apps , we now can be distracted and ignore the reality in front of our faces at any given moment of every single day.
Many have lost the art of communication because there really is no need to actually TALK (aloud) to people anymore.
It's all about these black letters on white background.
We text instead of call. We use emojis instead of an emotional face-to-face conversation. We post "insta" updates like engagements or the birth of a new baby instead of waiting to share that news in person, especially to close friends and family members. I hate finding out important things through Facebook first, don't you?
We can't even sit in a 20 minutes car ride without grabbing for that block of distraction. My husband knows how guilty I am of this one!
Y'all, I have been hiding behind my social media platforms ignoring that there is a deeper rooted issue going on.
I've been lonely.
Social media somehow makes me feel like I'm connected to people, but why I am still left feeling lonely?
It's because I'm longing for a deeper connection. Instead of sharing an article or funny meme, I want to share actual life experiences with others.
And recently I discovered that existing behind my keyboard hasn't just affected my relationships with people, but with God.
My prayer life has been so silent and not because I have taken the time to be still and listen.
I just have stopped talking to God in general.
Wow. Writing that out just seems to make me sound like such a horrible Christian.
But it's true.
I have to wonder if living a communicative existence of only black letters on white background is the huge reason my prayer life is on life support.
You can't text God.
You have to talk out loud sometimes. Just like my husband and I's relationship is affected by verbal communication., I'm forming my relationship with the Lord with every conversation I have with Him.
I can't say that I'm strong enough to cut social media and time on my cell phone cold turkey, but I know this has been a major stumbling block for me and I don't like that it has.
The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.
Well, I can say I'm finally being honest about that fact.
And now I need to manage my time more wisely and limit my exposure to this social media thing. That looks different for everyone, but for me it is deleting the apps from my phone and signing out of my web browsers. Deactivating my profile hasn't proved much help for me since you use Facebook to sign on to other sites and I hate remembering passwords for every single website.
I have also found it helpful to leave my phone on the charger in my bedroom during the day so it's not constantly with me in every room I'm in. I also put it on airplane mode at night so I'm not tempted to look at notifications.
So here's to mending my prayer life as I work on this anti-social media experiment once again. I'm hoping for a stronger connection up above.
I hear ya, God, I hear ya.
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