Adios Amigos

Last week I retired from Facebook. It was a tough thing to do. Or rather it IS a tough thing to do. But I felt like the Lord wanted me to cut it out of my life, even if it is only for a time. I'm not sure yet if it is just for a time or if it is a more long term commitment. I must admit, I really love Facebook. It gives me a connection to my family who lives far away (including my brother in MN), helps me stay in touch with people I met while in El Salvador, reconnects me with family friends who have moved out of state and even gives me an instant connection to a girl I sponsor through Compassion. So you can imagine what agony it has been following through with my convictions. But I have found that, because of Facebook, my relationships with my close friends have been floundering. I have become a more shallow friend, apt to drop you a quick line on your Facebook wall, rather than pick up the phone and call or invite you over for supper. I have become a stalker. I have become a lazy housewife. I ignore my duties as keeper of my home. My piles of laundry have become heaps. The dust bunnies have become dust lions. In the evening, I will get on Facebook before I dig into my evening read in the Psalms, leaving me too tired to concentrate by the time I open my Bible. I would rather ignore my husband (even though he is watching TV) and zone into the world of "who's doing what", than snuggle next to him on the couch. So the good has been weighed against the bad. I prefer life before Facebook. Where a phone call was anxiously awaited and a good letter waiting for me in the mailbox wasn't so far and few between. Where people actually talked to each other and got to know each other, rather than just reading bits and snippets of each other's lives. Where my priorities were just a bit closer to lining up where they should be. My tendency to abuse the privilege of the instant connection to the lives of those I love, has brought me to this place. Now I wonder how so and so will keep in touch with me? And how will I be able to hear from this or that person? But I follow the conviction the Lord has placed on my heart, trusting that He really does know what I need. After all, He really does. So good-bye Facebook. Hello blog. Hello housework. Hello family.

Matthew 19:29 And every one that has forsaken houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, [or Facebook] for my name's sake, shall receive an hundred times, and shall inherit everlasting life.