By Nancy Cruse
The season of Lent started on March 1st. Lent is a time of self-sacrifice, almsgiving, and prayer for Christians everywhere as they prepare for the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday.
One of the biggest things that people are giving up for Lent this year appears to be Facebook, based on all the pre-Lent posts that showed up in my newsfeed. I read posts like, “Bye for now, Facebook friends! I’ll be back after Easter!” and “Signing off for Lent!”
Giving up Facebook can be a big sacrifice for people who love the social aspect of it. Playing games, video chat, following people’s lives, sharing inspirational quotes, verbal sparring over political opinions, and finding new recipes are fun activities. Ok, let’s be honest – it’s all fun except that political part! It’s not easy to give up something you love to do. That is exactly why it’s a great thing to give up.
The whole purpose of giving something up for Lent is so that you can redirect yourself. If you are spending 3 to 4 hours a day on Facebook and then give it up for Lent, you have now given yourself the opportunity to fill those hours differently. Here’s some ideas:
- Spend more time connecting one on one with your husband or significant other
- Read a good book or read a book to a child
- Take out each of your children on a “date night”
- Go to a nursing home and ask to be connected with a resident who doesn’t get any visitors and spend Lent visiting them at least once a week
- Volunteer at your local food pantry
- Set up in person coffee dates with your Facebook friends and actually talk face to face with them
If everyone who gives up Facebook for Lent uses that time in a way that blesses others, imagine the difference they will make in our world. What are you giving up for Lent?
Nancy Cruse has been part of the Bloomington/Normal community for the past almost 30 years. A widow, with five children, along with her late husband was a small business owner in downtown Bloomington. Now employed by State Farm, Nancy is active in the community, writing the Clare House newsletter and maintaining their Facebook page, hosting an annual Fourth of July Food Drive, a team leader and fundraiser for the Pat Nohl Lupus Walk, and a member of Toastmasters International, as well as volunteering in various capacities at Holy Trinity Church and schools. In her spare time, Nancy likes to run, bike, hike, read, sew, and be a vegetarian who occasionally indulges in a Schooners Tenderloin.
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