Lessons learned from my facebook fast 2013

I had become all too dependent upon social media to both update me on the people I love lives, and to report my own happenings. However, for Lent, it became my discipline to just not turn to it- incoming or to go to it & post. At first, it was stupidly challenging. Thoughts came up like "But I wonder what _____ is doing today" or "Surely, I need to announce that I just ______". But like all things that you train yourself to do or not do, just like my taking on these silly diets for my health reasons or training for this 5k in a few weeks, you learn to live without and remind yourself that it's not an option.

I wasn't giving it up forever- it was 40 days (and just 5 years ago I didn't even have an account), but no one needs to know most of what I would have been posting anyway. There were certainly times that I just wanted to "cheat" and sign on to see what people were up to, post about a new fun gluten-free recipe that I perfected, my new and fabulous job (after praying and looking for 21 months!), starting to come out of this most recent ridiculous diet (hello fear- I'm now eating things and waiting to see if it gives me a headache... who does this voluntarily again?) or whatever I would post about before... I've learned that I can do without. Facebook is not my master. It serves its purpose and place in my life, but it's a place, not an idol, (which social media can EASILY slip into!) Just like any other fast, it was a choice and a discipline to not go to it, to abstain- and to do something more productive with my time. So I used that time to exercise and prepare myself for this 5k on April 13th (and my only goal is to not die. I know that sounds dramatic, but it's the truth); to volunteer more (a therapeutic riding program for kids with disabilities, Riley Children's Hospital, and Common Ground Church with their children's ministry); to get to know the people in my house church better and more intentionally; to pray and learn to listen for God's voice; to become better at knitting (I finished a baby blanket for my niece in a month and it is so soft and cute!);
and to not WORRY and consume my thoughts with the stupid 'What If' lies that Satan SO EASILY creeps in and whispers to me. Don't incorrectly assume that this fast has made me so much more spiritual now and I totally have all of the answers and have become yoda or somehow enlightened... But I have seen some of the ways that I would unhealthily run and escape to facebook, in my fears as if facebook could do something about my insecurities, pains, fears, ponderings, or those times when you need just a good laugh or are missing my distant friends- not that any of those things are necessarily bad in and of themselves, but they had become an idol for me, where I would run to facebook before God if I'm getting really honest. I hate that- it's painful and ugly, and not what I want to be about or the life I want to lead. So I'm sticking with facebook even with all of it's flaws, but I no longer need it the way that I did before. I'll be on every couple days to update and such, but I wont let it consume me the way that it before. So continue to email, text and call me as those will still be primary. And as always, thanks for continuing to follow along with the roller coaster that is my life currently!
Love, Amy Christine