This recently was a comment said to me by a friend. I replied to him with the following, "Well thank you but it's not all roses and sunshine in our life." I say this because I feel like our world is forgetting what it means to be in community with each other. I know I have been guilty of this myself. We get so wrapped up in social media that we don't have conversations with people because we think we already know what is going on.
Yes, if you read my Facebook page, my life looks great: I'm engaged to the person of my dreams, I love my job, I'm going to graduate with my Master's of Divinity in May, and we have an adorable dog named Libby.
These are the things I post about on a daily basis. I post these joyful moments because they help me not to worry about the crap that goes on in our lives. Posting these things about our up and coming wedding help me forget about the worry that I have with paying for it. Where will the money come from? How can we afford this when my internship stipend hardly pays the bills? I love my internship site and the church I am pastoral interning at. I post about this because it helps me not to worry about May, when I won't have job anymore. What will I do for income once I graduate? I can't seek out a church because the earliest I can be ordained is October. Will someone hire me knowing it will be short term? How are we going to be able to have a child with very little income? These things I don't post about because they are depressing. There are moments I can forget them and then there are moments where they keep me awake at night, why worry others with them.
So back to my friends comment. When he said this to me, it got me thinking. How many of us are "putting on a face" on Facebook? Are we all really this happy? Do we really always love our dogs this much? Are our kids really that perfect? I'm guessing not. How many of our friends are truly hurting and worrying on the inside?
I mention this because maybe it's time that we step away from social media for a bit and have an actual conversation. When we are at home with our family, put the phone away and ask them how they felt about their day. When did you feel loved today? When did you feel hurt? When we are out having coffee with a friend, don't check in on Foursquare, check in with your friend: How are you feeling working at your job? What sort of stuff are you struggling with and can I help? When we are at church on Sunday morning, stop tweeting the sermon and start listening to it: How is God loving me in this moment? How am I sharing the love of God with others?
I know this means looking someone in the eyes and acknowledging their existence, but it also means that they are seeing you, hearing you. You are seeing them with new eyes and they are seeing you with new eyes. Step away from the falsehood and step into the truth of who you are in that moment. It maybe scary, but if everyone does it, no one is alone.
Peace.
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