Is there Anything Good Coming Out of Social Media?

We can use social media for good or for evil. I would like to answer my own question, "Is There Anything Good Coming Out of Social Media?"  I invite you to keep reading.

It took a lingering head cold to get me to finally slow down and truly rest today. I knew it was the wisest way to get rid of the heavy congestion and annoying weariness of being sick! I was not interested to tune in cable TV so my mind could tune out and snooze. I realized this was the weekend for me to officially revive my love of reading good books!

Hey, even as a very young girl I dreamed of becoming a librarian so I could be around lots of books every day!  We lived in Pennsylvania at the time and I absolutely loved going into the big public library, the ceilings were so high and the dark wood on the front desk was so tall and long. It was the same wood as the bookshelves. And the tables where people were reading and writing...oh, I wanted to do that! All those many years ago you had to be very quiet in the library.  I wanted to participate in that lovely environment of joyfully learning new things through book reading, and being in the company of fellow readers who felt the same way!

 For decades I've been drawn to writing, reading, cooking, and hospitality. Somewhere along the way I got distracted from regularly reading good books just for pleasure and to gain knowledge. But over the past several months I could sense God was working on me to help rediscover one of my joys. This morning God was asking me, “You were running a good race. Who cut in on you? “ (Galatians 5:7). Answer: my flesh? the world? the devil?  Yep. Yep. Yep. Distractions of believing lies about myself and people pleasing can rob all of us of even our guiltless pleasures. Don’t ya think? 

Well, God has answered one of my specific daily prayers, that I would “throw off everything that so easily hinders...” (Hebrews 12:1).  I made the choice. A few moments ago I finished a delightfully inspiring book, “My Life In France” by Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme. It was a refreshment to read her engaging story. The creativity that made up her lifestyle:  her recipes, adventurous cooking, ongoing hospitality, honesty in her writing, and her enjoyment of life, was so wonderful it didn’t seem to matter I was flopped on our sofa with annoying sinus issues.

I knew Julia Child's story but I haven't read this story. Doors opened for me and a rediscovery began when one of  our daughters, Grace Balint, gave me this book as a gift several months ago. I struggled to find time to read it. Until today.  You can call me a slow learner or a late bloomer. I call myself blessed.

God really does know the desires of our hearts and He will give them to us when we are delighting in Him (Psalm 37:4). He will put other people and circumstances in our paths to make our desires come to life!

Since it’s not unusual for creative people to be drawn to like-minded artisans, God put a few creative writers, artists, marketers, and counselors in my path who (unknowingly) have been pointing me back to a few of my childhood passions: reading, hospitality, and to continue persevering in my writing. These people I'm about to mention don’t know me. We’ve never met. But God has them sharing their gifts and passions with the world on Instagram. I simply follow their posts with 1,000s of other people. 

We don’t have to personally know each other. God has been using them to encourage me online! Isn't that just like God? If we’re looking for good, we’ll find it!  I didn't know Julia Child, but her zest for life and hospitality encourages me! (Read a paragraph from her book below). She not only had a zest for food and zest in her food, she carried around of zest for life and cherished it! "toujours bon appetit" Always a good appetite!

 I want to say thank you and to send encouragement right back:  Allison Fallon @allyfallon, Shauna Niequist @sniequist , Don Miller @donmilleris, Dr. Henry Cloud @thedailydrcloud, Betsy Miller @betsymiller.  I guess that's why we're called the Body of Christ and the light of the world, right?  If we choose to use Instagram for good, then a lot of good can come out of social media! 

Polly💖