Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Step Of Faith

I got an email the other day that truly touched my heart. Sometimes as I have been blogging I get to the point where I really am wondering why I even felt called to blog about this. I mean, what's really the big deal. So what if I felt I needed to stop my "Facebook addiction." Honestly, I like the word "time waster" better, but let's be honest here.. most of the time our biggest time wasters truly have become addictions. But anyways, I was thinking to myself, we all have things we fast from now and again..why is this even important enough to share? Well, this email grounded me in my initial belief that there was more to me starting this journey than just helping myself. I had never even looked into blogging, read blogs, or even knew how to find them and I felt called to blog. Hmmm... There was a reason I was to share it, although at the time I wasn't entirely sure why.

Here's what the email read... {and yes I have gotten full permission from this person to post this}. ☺

I wanted to email you to say thank you for your step of faith.. I came across your blog last month sometime (or maybe it was less than a month ago).. anyways... I came across your blog and was interested in your blog "a mom without facebook"?? wow.... That peeked my interest.. So I read the post about why you were going without facebook and immediately I thought to myself I should do that myself... but then I stopped and realized doing it because someone else was doing it was a wrong reason for doing it and that I wouldn't last too long.. so I declined.. Well yesterday I was on Facebook and something inside me (which I really feel was God) just nudged me.. and I felt like ... "what's the point of me coming on here?  why is majority of my time consumed by reading others posts... surveying counteless posts for no reason?"  and to make a long story short I deactivated my account and it feels so freeing and I am so thankful that I came across your blog... because I know if I didn't I wouldn't have had the courage to do it.. Thank you so  much.. I am not close to God like I see others, but then again are they really?  Am I really? But I know God uses different situations, blogs, anything he wants to to show us things we need to see.. So thanks... :-) 

I was so honored that the Lord would use my little blog to reach a complete stranger and to encourage her to make a big step of faith in her own life. I mean, isn't that what it's all about!? Helping each other in this journey that we ALL are a part of... LIFE.   

She went on to email me and told me that this was how things had changed for her since deactivating her account.

...without facebook in the way it's one step more that I can take to spending that time with my son.. SO far I have stopped staying in my bedroom to watch tv and I spend time with him downstairs... I make him breakfast every morning instead of telling him to do it himself.. and we spend every weekend running errands (which gets exhausting)... But I know that only 2 things can come out of this no facebook... good or a new addiction.. and I don't want that nor do I need it in my life... 


My response was that first of all I was incredibly proud of her for noticing something that needed to change and doing so and NOT doing it because someone else did. There's a difference between doing something because someone else did and being inspired by someone enough to make a change yourself. Your true motive will always shine through as time goes by. For her, it was just like me, a personal thing. She couldn't be more right when she explained that she knew if she did it just because I did, it wouldn't last. I agreed with her concern that addiction can just take the form of something else if we aren't careful. How true is this! 

Another addiction...hmmm.. I have been thinking about this since the day I quit Facebook and have had to constantly remind myself to have balance and also have been praying for the Lord to change my heart. If I'm not careful, blogging could become the same addiction that I had on Facebook and that is the last thing I would ever want. But keeping this perspective, being aware of my past {forgiving myself for the past}, and reminding myself of it daily has been amazing.  

And the more followers keeping me accountable doesn't hurt either. I am blessed to have each and every one of you following my journey. So thank you.. and thank you to the person that emailed me. You have touched my heart more than you know.

3 comments:

  1. so glad to find you thru jami's link up! i am a little over one year of facebook-free :) i deactivated last september for a few reasons, one of them being the complete waste of time! i have to admit that blogging (writing and reading them) does tend to take up a lot of my time now, but i think it's much more edifying, what i get out of blogging, as opposed to facebook. anyway, i'm your newest follower (as soon as i can click on it, it's not working right now for some reason)

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  2. I am one week today!!!

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I'm blessed by your sweet words!

They inspire and encourage me to keep sharing my story...

Thank you.

♥Heather