There were several reasons why I decided last month to take a one month Facebook fast. It was not something with which I wrestled for months. I woke up one morning and felt like God was telling me to remove distraction from my life. Of course, my response to this was to get on Facebook. Within five minutes, my kids knocked on my bedroom door twice, the dog starting barking outside and needed to be called inside, my phone rang and I got two text messages. I, however, in the midst of the normal Morrison Clan mayhem, was annoyed that I was pulled away from Facebook. That very evening I posted my status that I would be taking a one month fast from Facebook.
As I said, there were several reasons I decided on a fast. So I'll share some of the reasons. First and foremost, my family was a major reason. It's summer time and fun time in the sun. There is no reason to spend the day behind my computer when my kids need to go to the pool or have a play date or a sleepover. It's my time with my kids. Facebook was taking too much of that time.
Another reason for the fast was intimacy. Let me just explain that a little more. First it was intimacy with God. When I getting on Facebook as much as I was, I was stealing time from God. I was not able to hear Him as clearly. I was desiring Facebook first thing in the morning instead of waking up and declaring my love to Him and thanking Him for my day.
It was also giving me false intimacy. Facebook has a way for keeping me up to date with friends daily happenings but the REAL relationship is not on Facebook. I no longer felt the need to call my friends when all the little things happened and talk about our days, process our problems, vent our anger, sing our praises and just have a minute to hear each others voices. I was "hearing" all of that on Facebook and so months would go by with just a quick call hear and there. I needed to reconnect to my friends, call them, make lunch dates, stop by their houses, get kids together and live in daily REAL relationship.
The other side of the false intimacy was I had created friendships in my mind based on knowing about their lives on Facebook and commenting here and there. I was then hurt when I would reach out or invite someone into my life and found no response. These people were not "friends" as Facebook would label them but rather acquaintances and people I knew from school or church or friends of friends that I met once at a function. I know many of my friend "clean" out Facebook friends with whom they are not currently in relationship or do not accept friend requests if they are not truly friends. I am not one of those.
If I actually know you, we can be "friends" on Facebook. I like to believe my Facebook is a transparent representation of me. I share the good, the bad and the ugly but always with grace and dignity. I don't bash or blame though I do vent. My page is PG and Christ centered and my kids, their friend, my nieces and nephews are all friends as well as my aunts, uncles, cousins, grandma and pastors. I share my life and if you want to see you can (that is as long as I actually know you). I love to see what God is doing in your life and pray for many of my "friends" on Facebook. BUT, I needed to be reminded that Facebook is a social networking sight and no, I do not have 485 friend with whom I am in deep, intimate, daily relationship. That would just be exhausting.
So in this fast I was reminded to wake up and call out to the Lover of my life and thank Him for the day first. I had time to invest in the summer fun with the kids, went to the pool a thousand times, made play dates, helped kids make a movie, had sleepovers and wasn't distracted. I reinvested in my intimate relationships and picked up the phone, made dates and visited friends. I remembered who my friends are and even if I don't pick up the phone to call you often, I know you are out there (even when you're states away...you know who you are). I prayed more then I have in a while. I cried a lot because I was open to what God is doing. But the most important thing I think I gained from my fast was that I decluttered my life, some physically and some emotionally...but that's another blog post for another day.
All in all, I would say I am glad I fasted from Facebook for a month. I'm not sure if or when I'll do it again. I'm not saying goodbye to Facebook just yet, but I am cutting back for sure. I want to dedicate more time to some hobbies (I've started knitting again, though I'm not very good at it and I'm trying to figure out if I actually like it). I would like to blog more. I would like to continue to declutter my house. And most of all, I want to invest more time into my loved ones: family and friends. So I hope you don't see me on Facebook as much but I also hope you see a few more blog post from the crazy Morrison Clan world.
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