Hubby and I were recently talking about all things social media. I told him that back in April I was ready to delete all social media accounts because I was over it. Then I told him that I was going going to make it so it was just friends and family who lived really far away.
I was really struggling the fairness of social media. not saying thane in particular was behaving in that way…..I was struggling. And yet there was this sense that I needed to wait. On morning I woke up and did my bible study and as I began my day. I reached for my phone and opened facebook and there staring me in the face was the cutest little face……It was a video I had taken of our then 2 year old saying something adorable as always…..I scrolled a little further…….a post from a book that I was reading talking about our relationship with God……I scrolled aliyyle further a post I had written about something I was struggling with……Not about some one else…about me.
I told hubbyThat it hit me right then and there that’s why I have social media……memories. I know I know I said in the image that there were three reasons and there are but the overarching reason is the memories.
Memories- A Recounting of the kids
Man there is NOTHING better than seeing your 4 year old “preaching” or your two year old pulling back his commentary that all girls are duped” when he realizes him mama is a girl *Gasp*
Those memories bring back smiles and giggles from all involved. then there are the hard moments. this moments that might be about a struggle . It’s good for us to remember. God taught the Israelites to set up memorial stones and pillars to remind them of where they had come from.
Memories- the things we have learned
This one is big for me! I read A LOT. I have currently finished 35 books for the year and am working on books 36-41…..I have 4 more waiting in the wings the will jump on that list as soon as something comes off. I also have one book for a launch team that I am waiting to arrive and that will jump on as soon as it arrives. Now I NEVER have shared book numbers here before. It’s not really about how many books I read but I want someway for the info I am putting in to come back in the future.
Like I mentioned above, the memory specifically on facebook will show up every year on that day! and more than once I have needed to see what I’ve shared. It serves as an encouragement as to where I have been and where I am headed
BONUS benefit: When someone writes in the comments that what I have shared has met them where they are and that it was exactly what they needed! that is always a huge blessing to me because THAT means I am not alone in my struggles.
Memories: The things I have written.
One of my biggest regrets over the last few years is deleting the things I have written that have been misinterpreted because it is a reminder of where I have been and what I have struggled with. I have written about some those things here on my blog.
Writing is my outlet and it is for ME. If someone is helped along the way THAT’s fabulous. I always feel so blessed when someone has shared with me about how my writing has changed them.
I have made mistakes too….I have vented…..I have gotten frustrated……but as I have grown I have realized that intentionality is so important. (Stay tuned for another blog post coming up on being intentional). But even in those instances I have learned from those mistakes and grown leaps and bounds. I know that when I am finished with this blog post right now I will go and share it to my social media platforms.
And from there it will get stored in some memory bank and in a year…..and in 10 years and in 20 years this post will come up in my memories and it will serve as a reminder to me …..no one else can see my memories Just me.
Two more benefits of intentionally taming our social media usage:
When I started this blog post a few weeks ago there were only 3 points but since then I have come up with two more important points.
- Prayer- on more than one occasion in the last few weeks I have seen urgent prayer requests of family/ friends who are going through major issues of some form or another. I hope that our words of encouragement lift them up and bless them and as we pray for them I pray that encourages them as well.
- And lastly as a ministry family one of the things social media does for us is keep us connected to a) our ministry friends who are far away-even in other countries…..we have ministry friends in Italy, Brazil, Africa, Canada, Ecuador (just to name a few) and then there are those ministry friends all over the country….In many different states. With social media they are only one click away!
I want to challenge you to be intentional! In everything You do!
