Each August I take a vacation from social media. Honestly, there’s no virtue in it. I do it so I don’t have to see where everyone else has gone. I’m not going anywhere for the umpteenth year in a row, either because I can’t afford it or can’t manage it. And seeing all those gorgeous photos of places I’d like to go is unsettling, and maybe a little envy-producing. So I turn it off and focus on the work God has given me to do—which requires being where I am and accepting what I need to accept—and I wait until the fall to reconnect online.
I don’t normally think of myself as a jealous sort of person; I don’t care about keeping up with the Joneses. What I do care about is being able to give my kids experiences they would enjoy, and having the freedom to think about what would be best for them if I could afford it.
But that’s not the life I’ve been given, and that’s okay. My world is one of creating structure that allows my family to move forward, of making ends meet, of prayer and prudence, of finding ways to see that what feel like limits are, instead, a way to meet God.
Truthfully, my children do not actually need trips abroad or journeys cross-country. The truth of that insight pushes me to acknowledge that the gap between what I want to give them and what they actually need is the measure of my worldly desires. When I look at my envy that way, it’s kind of humbling.
So I turn off the social media to tone down my yearning. And when the noise of envy is quieter, it’s easier to hear God whispering, “I am here. You—and your family—can find growth and joy and contentment in Me, regardless of circumstances.”
