Friend Request

Lately, I find myself getting depressed, and it doesn’t stem from anything directly related with my own life situation. Facebook is the problem. Well, Facebook isn’t exactly the problem, but it’s the reason I know there’s a problem. It provides an awareness of the going-ons in the life of people who I normally don’t see or speak to in my day-to-day life. I start to type in their name, Facebook instantly suggests pages to match my inquiry and one click and I’m there. I know about the things they’ve been up to, where they’ve moved, who they are dating, what job they have etc. I write this in full knowledge that it sounds like the confession of a creeper, but am less than worried about that because I know full well that if you have a Facebook you do this too.

I often do not like what I see. I say this with not even a touch of self-righteousness behind it, knowing that people probably much of the time don’t like what they see in my life (though I hope not!) I see people who are bright and talented, completely smashed in picture after picture. I see people who are running away from things. I see people who are settling for relationships that aren’t healthy for them because they want to feel loved and think “he’ll change” or “he’s really sorry this time.” I see people who at one point made a commitment to follow Jesus who for one reason or another found something that was more appealing to them. And it kills me. It physically makes me feel sick seeing people who I used to know well and still care about doing things that are going to leave them empty. Some of these people have really mistreated me and been bad friends in the past and they’re the one I feel the most sad for. I hate seeing people hurt themselves, and I hate that I can’t help them understand what they’re missing. I can pray for them but beyond that, I can do nothing but log in and see (with great sadness) what they’ve been up to on my homepage.

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