I have recently read ‘Walking on Water’ by Jennifer Miskov
and would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to be challenged to live a
life outside of the boat, a life where Jesus is the sole focus and where he
needs to turn up or else!
The book challenged me on many levels but also created an
excitement in me as I realised that I was made to live life like this. I was made to rely on Jesus in every
circumstance and to risk everything to be closer to him. Wow!
How amazing is that? I was
created to live an adventurous and risktaking life with Jesus. I was never designed for the mundane, but
like Peter, to walk on water as I look to Jesus and seek to grow in intimacy
with him. This is so good!
So, as one of the challenges Jennifer suggest that you fast
from social media for a week as it can become a distraction. I don’t spend much time on social media (I
use Facebook and Instagram) but I had begun to realise that I could look at the
apps on my phone many times a day, even if just for a minute or two. It wasn’t the time I was spending that was
an issue but the fact that I realised that if I had a moment or two spare
during the day, the first thing I reached for was social media. This is not what I want! I want all my spare moments to be focussed on
Jesus and not on how many likes my latest post has or what the latest video is that’s
going viral!
As a result of this, Jennifer’s suggestion of a social media
fast came at a good time for me. I
decided though that if I really wanted to make a difference in my life and to
train myself away from using social media in my spare moments then I needed to
do a little more than a week. I decided
on 21 days as they say if you do something for 21 days it becomes a habit.
I thought it might be hard but that just wasn’t the case. From the moment I decided to do it, it was
just something I was doing. I deleted
the apps from my phone and that was that.
There was no going cold turkey as I went to check them but they weren’t
there. I had just made a decision and
that was that. In fact, when it came
time for me to break my fast I didn’t straight away as I just was not that
bothered about being back on social media.
During my social media fast I did find myself more present
in the moment as I was not continually distracted by checking Facebook and
Instagram but was just enjoying what I was doing. It was so freeing. It was such a blessing and is something I
will do again, whenever I feel like it is becoming a distraction.
It’s not that social media is bad and I love that I can keep
up with friends all over the world with it.
I love that there is lots of encouraging and inspirational stuff posted
too. However, I have come to a place where
I want to have social media work for me and not me for it. So, from here on in I will go on one or two
times a week and that is it and continue to live my life enjoying the moment!
Happy heart! Blessed
indeed!
