Why I'm Giving Up Social Media for Lent | The Spiritual and Practical

"Happy are the people whose strength is in You, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage."

Psalm 84:5

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!  I'm sitting here at a mustard colored table across from my hubby at Cup of Joe, sipping a Sweet Thang Strawberry Chai that tastes exactly like something you should be drinking on Valentine's Day.  Beau agreed to impart his insurance wisdom with five periods of Civics class at Peet Junior High.  I just happened to be there this morning, too, so the two of us decided to use our "planning period" to grab some coffee, sit across from each other and get a little work done.  We have a family date night planned for tonight, and are planning to dig into a date box after the kids go to bed.  We decided to forgo gifts for each other and bought ourselves and fancy new coffee maker.  I'm pretty jacked. :)  

I usually love me some Valentine's Day, but I'd be lying if I said the whole day wasn't taking a backseat to another thing that's been on my mind for awhile now.  Today is Ash Wednesday, the start of the Lenten season, and the first day of my social media fast.  For the next 47 days, I am saying goodbye to Instagram and Facebook.  I have never done a social media fast before, although the idea has always intrigued me.  I've considered doing this before, but have always made excuses as to why I didn't need to take part in this exercise of self-denial and separation.  But things have changed lately, and my mind has shifted away from needing this to actually desiring this break.  I've been going back and forth since the new year when I wrote about freedom as a vision for my year ahead.  It seemed only natural that in order to free up my life in the way I was desiring, I would need to rethink some of the areas of my life that often chain me up or take me away from that free mindset.  

There are practical reasons for why a social media fast will likely be a good thing for my me.  I grab my device all too quickly, in the car, when I'm talking to my kids, or when I could be more focused on my life instead of the lives of others I'm seeing on my screen.  But the season of Lent seems the perfect time to engage in this endeavor as a spiritual fast as well.  Lent is a season in the church calendar that takes us from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday.  It's a long season, often a dark season, as we take a long look at the cross and reflect on our own sin that put Jesus there.  I listened to a podcast awhile ago and was struck by the speaker who said, "If we do Lent well, Easter Sunday will truly be the celebration it should be."  And while practicing Lent isn't required, it is an opportunity to slow our pace, draw closer to Jesus, and fast from things we typically delight in as a way to refine our delight in Him instead.

"Overtime, I can feel the monuments of self stack up.  My pride, my independence, my distraction, my sin.  Lent becomes a time when I give God permission to knock those monuments down and reorient my life in a way that fixes my eyes on the cross."

Amanda Bible Williams

The following are ten reasons, both practical and spiritual, I am personally giving up social media for the next several weeks.

The practical side...

1. I need to take a step away to realize how bound to it I really am.  I haven't done without social media for more than a few days here and there and to me, that is a problem.  I want to regain control of its role in my life, set some new limits, and reflect on how life looks different without it.  Oftentimes, I think our society is good at identifying the problems in our lives, but not always so good at realizing that we have control over a lot of them.  This is an area I definitely have control over.

2. I want to focus on my life, who I am and where I'm going, and it's just hard to do that when I'm scrolling through the lives of others.

3. I simply want more time and less distraction in my days.  I want to read books and be creative instead of mindlessly scrolling Instagram.  I am most excited to see just how much more time I gain in my days.  

4. I'm looking forward to filling that time with other things.  I want to nurture the relationships in my life, in the flesh instead of over a screen.  I want to stare at my kids' faces and really listen to their stories.  And I want to invite more people for coffee.  And I want time to just be quiet!

5. It will make personal conversations more interesting.  Isn't it funny how when we actually do run into someone, we often already know what they're going to talk about?  I want to be surprised again, to truly see people and feel like I haven't seen them for awhile!

And the spiritual side...  

6. I want to feel Lent more this year.  I want to draw closer to the sacrifice He made by sacrificing something myself.  As small as it is, I pray every time I think about what I'm giving up, I think about ALL He gave up.

7. I want to depend on Him more deeply.  I tend to be a pretty independent person and need to give some of that up in order to understand my true dependence.  

8.  Jesus fasted for 40 days himself and experienced extreme hunger and temptation.  But through that experience, He also experienced extreme closeness to God and clarity in His mission here on earth.  

9.  I believe we live in a time where we don't like to self-deny ourselves from anything.  The world is at our fingertips, which makes the enemy really happy because it's so easy to use this world to take us away from our eternal one.  

10. I want to anticipate spring in a new way this year.  Not only the green grass and warm sun, but an opportunity for a rebirth and fresh start to what I delight in and depend on.  My hope is that after this season ends, I feel more free, more healthy, and more ready to appreciate and respect the devices that can so easily be abused.  

I love that two (from what I know) of my college girls are also taking part in this journey.  I was reading Erica's blog post about her social media fast and loved this: "I am hoping that by giving up social media, I am able to run with endurance, faith, and patience to my true comfort and savior, rather than one of the flesh.  I am praying that by taking time to be silent, still, and maybe even a little uncomfortable, I am able to learn obedience, honest, truth, and faithfulness."       

So starting today, I am social media free until Easter Sunday.  I'll still be blogging and will share reflections throughout these weeks on what I'm learning and how I'm growing through it all.  By the time I return to the world of Instagram, the snow will be gone and signs of spring will be all around.  There is no such a time as this!

But seriously, no social media.  If you have something super important to tell me or you want to connect, you're going to have to CALL or email!  I love tea and coffee and wine and all make perfect pairings to real, face-to-face connection and conversation. ;)