I decided to live it.

Source

This quote struck me.
Especially the part that says, "... I decided to live it."
(It comes from a really intriguing love story, by the way.)

I quit Facebook a few days ago.

Have you ever deactivated Facebook before? It's kind of a hassle. Before you do, it shows you some photos of you with other people and says, "Austin is going to miss you... Sarah is going to miss you... Emily is going to miss you..." and pretty much begs you to stay. Little does Facebook know I haven't talked to those people in years (I changed the names, don't worry). And it made me think: Isn't it the weirdest thing how our culture has so rapidly become an online society? I'm not that old, and I can remember days that I didn't know what email or the internet was, and my life didn't feel lacking one bit. But today, if you're not on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, you name it... and you haven't updated it for a few days... well, you're really out of the loop.

I'm one of the worst offenders. Seriously. I love all these different outlets, and the opportunity to connect with people 24/7. I love that I can read the news on my iPhone before bed, see pictures people have taken all day long on Instagram, and can see pictures of people's weddings, babies, and everything in between whenever I want. But there's this unspoken pressure to keep up with it all. To be "in the know."

And that takes gobs of time.

Time spent staring at my phone or computer with so little to show for it (I mean, I've never really built a relationship on Facebook. Have you?). Time letting my heart become jealous by seeing what other people have and where they vacation and how they redecorated their living room. Time that I don't spend doing so many things I should be doing.

And for all of these reasons, it's enough for me to say "That's it" and pull the plug on Facebook. Because I know that the more I unplug and disconnect from online things, the more whole I feel. Kind of ironic, isn't it? (Especially coming from a girl who writes a blog, right?)

So really, this whole post isn't about Facebook at all. It definitely isn't a plea for you to quit along with me. It's about decisions toward wholeness, toward boundaries, toward having more time to focus on the people God has put in my life - and that can take on so many forms. For me, it's just starting with Facebook. Trust me, I loved Facebook. It's been a tough breakup so far. But what I think I'm going to love is the sheer time I get back, the having-to-actually-pick-up-the-phone-and-call someone to catch up, the face to face interaction.

Who knows - maybe in a different season, I'll be back.
But for now? It feels just right.