The Birthday Gift

I’m drawn away from socially networked efforts to make ourselves seen, even or especially as a missionary outreach. I joined Facebook a few years ago. I humbly petitioned my skating friends to please be my Facebook friends. And then I asked my sisters. And their spouses too. And also my many cousins. And their spouses. And also my aunts and uncles, though not all of them are on Facebook. And now, having connected with everyone I’m actually connected to in real life, and reconnected with people who I like but had not kept in touch with well, I have friends.

Plenty has been said about the evils of Facebook (and admittedly I have, at times in my life, spent too much time on some of its distractions), but I find that–just like with about any other invention or technology–it can be used for good as well as for evil. Here’s my short list:

• Keeping an eye on your teenagers–getting to know their friends, being aware of what their crowd is saying and doing
• Rallying support and gathering donations for others during disasters
• Proactively procuring from “the universe” things you need
• Keeping people–particularly family–posted on important events such as new babies, engagements, surgeries, events, celebrations, etc.
• Reaching out to others, sending well wishes or an encouraging word
• Remembering birthdays (the reason for this post)

But not doing missionary work–when we all do the same networked thing it sticks out as fake as it is. In the ward, in my real life congregation, the coordinated effort has an effectiveness I can appreciate. It’s what gets the casseroles to the new Moms. It’s why I’ll be visiting a couple sisters in my ward later this week instead of staying comfortably at home, part of a network of prayer and care that will loosely cover most of who it intends to.

I am grateful (very grateful) for my electronic friendships. But increasingly it’s become easy for me to retreat behind a computer screen, typing away, instead of getting out and being with people. Facebook updates only make me hungry for what I really want from my friends: a nice long talk.
 
Cut to Thursday last (that’s–count them–one, two, three, four, five–FIVE days ago).

I worked late that day and while chilling for a second after work happened to hop on Facebook for a minute. Keep in mind I have more than a few friends on Facebook (large families on both sides help inflate the numbers) and the odds of my seeing any particular friend’s status update are likely small.

So when I saw my niece, Whitney's comment it surprised me:

"Cool jet."

It was a simple post but it was on this photo she had posted it that surprised me.

 

It was my brother's. My one and only brother whom I haven't seen or talked to in forever. I thought about it for about half a second and then sent him a friend request. I took my boys to hockey practice and when I came home he had accepted me as his friend. And then today when I wished him a happy birthday he responded and said, "Thanks Sis!" All because of Facebook.