Facebook Fast October

Yes, I know that some of you may laugh when you read that I will be fasting from facebook for the entire month of October. I have attempted such acts in the past and have usually caved after a few weeks, days, and sometimes even hours. How many times did Thomas Edison try and fail before he invented the light bulb? Something like 1,000, right? There is hope.

Here is the plan: No facebook for the entire month of October. I’m not going to be strictly legalistic about this. Facebook is my only way of communicating with my friends from Costa Rica. I will still use it to communicate with my friends from this summer and from ISA, when necessary. I will also be receiving email updates when someone writes on my wall or sends me a message. So without getting on facebook, I’ll be able to read those and decided if they are life shatteringly important. If they are, then I will contact that person. If they aren’t, then I will not respond until November. I will not be using facebook to post pictures, to browse other peoples pictures, to facebook stalk people, update my status, write on peoples walls etc. This is going to be very good for me…. Haha!

Why am I doing this you may ask? Well, there are many reasons. I’ve been tossing this decision around since I got here and have been praying about it the last few weeks. I’m a facebook addict, as we all know. Being in Costa Rica doesn’t help my addiction. The Lord has been showing me that there are some areas in my life that I haven’t fully surrendered to Him. Although I obeyed in coming to Costa Rica, I’m not fully here. A big part of me is still at home. He’s been whispering to me that it’s time to give Him my all. It’s time to really be here where He has placed me. He confirmed this for me this morning.

This is my fourth month here. The excitement and newness of this experience for the most part is over. Without even knowing it, I think I’ve been just “gettin’ through”. I haven’t been loving people the way that Christ loves them. I haven’t been taking advantage of every opportunity and I haven’t been proactive. I already have friends here. I’m already really close to my host family from this summer. Subconsciously, I didn’t see the need. And thus, I’ve just been here, but not fully.

I love my new host mom, but sometimes it’s hard to talk to her. She likes to watch sop operas and doesn’t spend as much time with us as Cecy and Willy spent with me this summer. It’s not that she’s not social; it just takes a lot more of my effort to get to know her. God has been giving Moriah and I more bonding moments with her recently, but I know that I could be doing a better job at initiating this. She knows how much I love my family and my life back in the U.S. (I get pretty excited when I talk about them ☺). Yesterday I had her proof read my essay for me. I talked about her in the paper, about how thankful I am for her and how blessed I am to have such wonderful, loving ticos in my life. In the last paragraph I talked about the challenges of living here and how some days can be really frustrating and other days I can be homesick. This was a small part of the paper that I didn’t think too much about; however, she did.

This morning, I came-out of my room and she was waiting for me. Her voice was full of concern and she asked me if I was happy here. She asked me if I am having a hard time being here and if I miss my family. Her concern caught me by surprise and I assured her that I love it here and that I’m very happy and very thankful to live with her. She seemed very relieved. This didn’t sit very well with me for the rest of the morning. I hated that she needed assurance that I was happy here. As I was praying about this the rest of the morning, I felt strongly that this was a wake-up call from the Lord. He has me here for a reason and it’s not about me. Every day he presents me with opportunities - opportunities to love people, to care, and to be His hands and feet. I need to live purposely every day. And I haven’t been. Later on today, we had our second Bible study. We studied Ephesians chapter two. Verse ten really stuck out to me:

“For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10

We are God’s workmanship! We were created to do good works for Him. And he has already prepared things for us to do for him. Not in the future, but now!

Fasting from facebook will help me to live every day purposefully because it will take away a huge distraction. Honestly, I really do get homesick. It’s hard not to see everyone’s pictures on facebook and to see what they are doing lately and to feel some sadness and to wish that I were there and not here - or to just miss them. Talking on Skype or emailing usually doesn’t make me feel that way. It’s mainly just facebook. My family and friends are an incredible gift from God! Being separated from something you love makes you appreciate it so much more. That’s how I feel about all of the relationships in my life. I am so incredibly thankful for each and every person in my life. I’m so thankful for my extraordinary family. My family loves each other like few other families I know. I don’t say that with pride, but with gratitude. Because of many life circumstances (Homeschooling, moving, trails we have been through, and our love for the Lord) we are united on a very deep level. Being away from them as well as the amazing women that I call friends, has given me a deeper love for all of them. However, any gift can become a crutch if we love it more than the giver. And thus, I need God to teach me how to appropriately cherish the gifts He has given me while loving Him the most and serving Him without hindrance. My time here is the perfect teaching ground for this. God is the only one who will always be with me no matter where I go, my entire life. I want to truly learn and know that He is enough – to be completely satisfied in HIM alone. I think that not being on facebook everyday and constantly seeing what is going on at home and at Western is going to be very helpful in this.

Let’s be honest, for the most part, facebook is a waste of time. I want to spend my time more wisely. I want to spend more time praying, studying the Word, loving people, being involved here, learning Spanish, updating my blog, reading, running, the list goes on! So that’s what I’m going to do! I’m going to be here – 100%. I’ve only got 11 more weeks. I’ll never have this time back, and I’m not going to waste it.

Please don’t misunderstand me; I still want to keep in touch with all of you wonderful people at home. My contact with you all will be more purposeful if I’m not keeping in touch through facebook. Instead of a little post on your wall, I’ll have to actually talk to you through Skype or email.

Please help me to succeed in this by keeping in touch with me through Skype and email.

Skype name: abbeyfeinn Email: thatgabbyabbey@gmail.com

Let the facebook withdrawal begin!