Hello friends! As you may or may not remember, last April I felt the Lord leading me to delete & deactivate all of my social media accounts and take an indefinite break. It’s been a little over 4 months now and I wanted to write this blog to share the things that the Lord has taught me so far (its been a TON). I have no intention of getting it back anytime soon, and I cannot wait how God continues to use this and teach me more about Himself, myself, and others!
without further ado… everything the Lord has taught me in 4 months of no social media!!
–My worth lies in His Word. I’ve learned that whether the people around me have tons of opinions, no opinions, or anywhere in between that I’ll be okay. What the Lord has said about me is permanent and definite, and because His word is good and true I am confident in the fact that I am chosen, loved, seen, and protected! always and forever!
–We are all broken & our opinions and emotions are fickle. Being off social media has removed a lot of extra voices from my life, and I’ve learned that people that I thought had a lot of influence in my life have faded into the background. As these extra voices lost their power, I also saw the Lord open my eyes to the flaws of man in the best way possible. There is no need to give other peoples’ judgements that much, if any, sway on our decisions because the only voice that is constant and worth listening to is HIS!
–There is immeasurable joy in being present. I had heard by whole life “be present, live in the moment!” but I didn’t understand the value in fully BEING where I was until I removed the biggest distraction in my life. When grabbing my phone was no longer an escape and I began to push through the awkward silences or lulls in conversation, at first it felt unnatural and uncomfortable. BUT, those are the places the Lord meets us and now I have learned to cherish face-to-face conversations and real life experiences more than ever! (I have said this to many of you already, but I keep saying “I feel like I’ve lived more life in the past 4 months than ever before!”)
–There are friends EVERYWHERE! Without a quick solution to boredom in a long line or awkwardness waiting for a friend to finish a conversation, I’ve basically had no choice but to meet people. and LET ME TELL YOU, I have met the coolest people and seen the glory of the Lord through stories that I may never have heard if I still had access to the “crutch” of social media! People are so cool and so worth loving!!!
–Silence is so powerful. Times of my day that used to be filled with tik tok scrolling or instagram checking have become quiet—in the best way. One of the ways the Holy Spirit has begun talking to me (He probably was the whole time but I didn’t make time to hear Him) is in silence and aloneness through quiet whispers. I have learned so much about the Lord’s character and the things He says about me in the quiet stillness that God pushed me into, and I’m so thankful.
–Obedience is always worth it. This lesson is one that I will carry forever, and one that I don’t believe you can fully learn without a very uncomfortable “yes”. To be transparent, I loved my social media accounts. I thought they were fun, healthy, and the best thing for me. BUT, I am so thankful that the Lord called and I answered. The freedom I have found on the other side of this “yes” has been transformative and has been essential in preparing for a year (and lifetime) of abandonment! (The Lord definitely knew what He was doing calling me into this when He did!)
–Nothing in this world is as ultimate as it seems. The night I deleted all of my accounts was really hard. I had thoughts swirling of what life would be like now and how badly I would miss it. I was fully expectant to wish I had my accounts back for weeks or months, but I was trusting the Lord’s faithfulness and that He had a plan of sanctification for me on the other side of this choice. The next morning I woke up and from then on, I barley thought about my social media, much less missed having it. I quickly found such abundant life and freedom because of this choice, and in hindsight I can see that so many of those fears and lies I believed that night of April 18th were from the enemy. He knew that the Lord had so much good for me that He wanted to trap me in fear and hold me back from what my Father had in store. Through these last four months, I have become so sure that there is absolutely nothing in this world worth being disobedient. God knows me so well and out of His love for me, He wants the absolute best for me. Even when things here seem so big and important, none of it will ever come close to comparing to Him and the goodness and mercy He wants to freely pour into our lives!
I hope this blog was an clear insight into my heart and everything the Lord has been teaching me. I am so thankful for the way He is shepherding me in this season and I can’t imagine being anywhere else right now! I also want to say—if you feel like the Lord is leading you to a break (short or long-term) from social media, consider this your gentle nudge to say yes! You won’t believe everything He will reveal to you on the other side of obedience!
I am packing up to head out soon (2 weeks from tomorrow—EEEEEKK), and while the goodbyes are hard, it has been so sweet to get the chance to glorify the Lord in all of it! Thank you so much for reading and I am so expectant that I will have many more blogs soon of everything the Lord continues to work together in me and my team on the field! I LOVE YOU!!
His love + mine,
bree
