Mourning doesn't last; morning always comes

Full disclosure-–I am a huge fan of social media. The daily screen time Pastor Adam has mentioned does not shock me at all. In fact, to be honest, it feels a little low. My phone is the tool I use to communicate with family and friends, take care of email, follow several news sources, read books, and so much more.

That said, while I realize my phone is a great tool for a lot of my day-to-day communication, there are times when it just doesn’t do the trick. No matter how handy it is to send a quick text or drop a comment into a chat, nothing replaces the importance of truly talking with someone. Even if those conversations can’t take place in person, voice inflection, tone, and content are so critical, and nothing says “you matter to me” more than stopping what you are doing to focus on speaking with someone when they need us.

As I think back on the darkest times of my life, one thing stands out to me. When I was lost, overwhelmed, and brokenhearted, it was the people in my life who helped me see God’s presence. Those friends and family members who showed up at our door, brought meals, came to visitations and funerals, took me out for lunch, filled my sudden and unwanted free time-–they were truly the hands and feet of Christ. They helped me see the light in the midst of my darkness.

But what does that have to do with social media? Two things immediately come to mind:

First, as I mentioned, I spend a lot of time on social media. Some of that is necessary, but a decent amount of that time is far from critical. It fills time that definitely could be used more constructively. Perhaps instead of scrolling mindlessly through Tik Tok, that time would be better used to call a friend–see how they are doing, grab dinner or go chat in a coffee shop. Maybe inviting a few people for a game night or dinner in our home. Maybe writing a note to someone, with a pen on paper, and mailing it to bring a little joy to their mailbox.

Second, I think social media can become a crutch, an easy way out. It’s really easy to read someone’s struggle on social media, see their post about going through something or being in the middle of a challenge and drop a nice heart emoji or some praying hands. But that doesn’t replace a genuine message, it doesn’t fill the gap, and it certainly doesn’t open a conversation that allows the person to share all that is going on. I mean, haven’t we all posted something that we needed to talk about, but just didn’t know how to open the conversation or who would be the best person to share with, and suddenly we are notified that we have 127 responses? Only to find that of the 127, 120 are emojis or a single word reply? And, let’s be honest, that little “like” or thumbs-up just doesn’t communicate very much.

So, what does all that mean for us? I’m not suggesting that you ditch your social media, and I won’t even challenge you to cut back on your screen time. I will, however, suggest this . . . the next time you see a post from someone in your circle, instead of hitting that “like” button or sending that cute little smiley face emoji, take a minute and call that person. Tell them you saw their post and just wanted to chat. It’s an easy opening-–if it’s a post about how great their kids are (which covers most of mine), ask about the kids, share a memory you have of their family. If it’s something else they are celebrating, schedule a time to get together to truly hear all about it. If the post isn’t all sunshine and butterflies, call and invite them to dinner and let them know you are there for them regardless of what they are going through.

You see, social media isn’t good or bad. Like almost anything else in our lives, it will be exactly what we make it. It’s up to us to use it to be the hands and feet of Christ and to help show the joy that comes when we look for it.