I have a family member who at Thanksgiving, told my husband that she was down to drinking only a case of beer a day. Yes, a case. She also mentioned that this was all done before noon so she would have time to sober up before picking her son up from school.
I wasn’t surprised, to say the least, by this revelation. The shocking thing was, she was proud of her accomplishment and was not the slight bit embarrassed. Because a case of day was a lot less than what she was drinking before. And now, she was only drinking beer, not hard liquor anymore. Huge difference in her eyes.
On top of the drinking, or maybe because of the drinking, she can become pretty darn violent and nasty. Her Facebook updates were constantly written, while obviously drunk, and mentioned hitting so and so or getting hit by so and so.
Eventually I couldn’t take the swearing and ALL CAPS UPDATES any longer so I hid her from my feed. I realized every time I got on Facebook and saw her updates, I would get angry with her. I didn’t want to portray my cousin in that light anymore because it was erasing all the good memories I had of her growing up.
But the funny thing is, just because you hid somebody else, they are not hidden from you. I don’t think I am over-the-top with my status updates but I occasionally mention God, upload pro-life images and attach articles on the HHS Mandate and other Catholic issues. So I guess it is clear, that my heart lies with Christ.
My cousin’s sister (I had no idea she had a sister! I assume she is a stepsister) is in intensive care at the hospital where my husband works. I didn’t know this since I hid her status updates from my feed. My cousin didn’t know my husband worked there until she ran into him in the hall last week. They talked for a bit and she asked my husband to pray for her sister.
Yesterday, my cousin ran into my husband’s office and through tears said her sister wasn’t doing good at all. She asked if he would come pray over her. He was taken off guard but went down there, placed his hands over her and prayed. This is completely out of my husband’s character but the Holy Spirit was with him. He later called and I told him to get the hospital chaplain for her as well.
I’m sitting her, crying as I write this. Not because of my cousin’s sister’s condition. But for the fact that my cousin saw Christ in my husband. I realize that I hid my cousin’s status updates to block out the negativity from my feed. At the same time, she could have hidden me and my religious updates. But Christ had a plan and that plan involved my husband praying for her dying sister.
As much as technology can mess up relationships, it can also strengthen them. I only see my cousin at Thanksgiving, Christmas and maybe at a birthday party for a family member. So honestly, our only interaction is Facebook. And I think it is because of Facebook, she asked my husband to pray over her sister.
Who knows, maybe Christ is using Facebook status updates to bring people closer to Him! I for one, believe it!
