What I Learn from Unplugging and the War Ahead

This past week has been one of thoughtful pondering, learning, and growth for me. Last Sunday, Russell M. Nelson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints gave the youth of our church a set of challenges. One of those challenges was to unplug from social media for a week and give that extra time to the Lord. Like many others, I decided to take that challenge on myself. I figured that since I didn't spend a lot of time on Social media anyway, it would be a breeze and I wouldn't miss it at all.

Boy, talk about an eye-opening experience!

For the first couple of days, I had to keep reminding myself not to log onto Facebook, which I was used to doing several times a day just to check for messages or see if there were any interesting tidbits on my feed. I'll admit that on one day I did check for private messages because I was waiting for an important response from someone, then, hard as it was, I got back off.
Through the week, I was amazed at how much time I had. Not only did I have more time for the Lord, but my life didn't feel so rushed or hurried, (despite the ongoing preparations for our business, our daughter's wedding, and our son and daughter-in-law's temple sealing that took place yesterday.)
Stepping away for the week gave me a sense of freedom - and this is coming from someone who thought she didn't spend enough time on social media to be tethered by its chains. I went from feeling like I may miss something important to understanding that nothing on social media is as important as where the Lord wants my time focused.

So, though my social media fast is over for the time being, I now understand better how that time is to be utilized and where the limit is. For me, the separation of sharing the Lord's message and my professional life has long since passed, and now the sharing of anything and everything that is virtuous, lovely, of good report, or praiseworthy is being amped up. The only way to fight the growing opposition online with its war of words is with a growing army of God, armed and in His service.
I don't know about you, but I say, "Sign me up!"