Fasting in Anticipation
“Bright Hope for Tomorrow” — Chapter 9 Reflection
An Unhealthy Obsession Forms
I confess, I’m a little bit of a YouTube junkie. I don’t know when it all began exactly—probably sometime during the Pandemic. You remember, don’t you? When there wasn’t much else to do.
Restaurants were closed. Shopping for anything but groceries seemed impossible. Searching for that hard-to-find toilet paper, which seemed to turn into gold overnight, was the only adventure we could hope for. Sadder yet, we couldn’t even go to church!
But there was one thing alive and well—the Beloved Internet. And with it, a host of platforms, AKA escape routes, to transport you nearly anywhere 24 hours a day, every day (digitally, that is).
For me, it was YouTube. Fashion hauls. Makeup tutorials. Dollar Store DIYs that inspired me to spend more than a dollar. Everything I wanted to know, yet nothing I needed to know.
The YouTube Demon
In the post-pandemic present, I’m still lured by the YouTube demon. Church has long been reopened (of which I’m so grateful), nonetheless I find myself habitually camped out on my iPad, eyes glued to the fascinating trends of the latest aesthetic my heart is dying to try, which brings me to one of the author’s questions . . .
From what should I fast from? Ha! I’ve made it way too easy for you. But I love the way the author helped me reconcile with this temptation.
It’s not what we give up that matters but what we replace it with that makes the difference.
I may take a few nights off from YouTube (or maybe I’ll just start with one), but the craving gives way to joy when I think about ways to supplement this vanity—all to rekindle my hope in Christ’s appearance.
With this new rhythm of anticipation, I don’t hope to become just another recovering YouTube junkie trying to get through another day here on earth—but a hopeful believer who knows her future is brighter and more fulfilling than any platform could ever offer.
Wait! Did someone say there’s a YouTube channel about this?
Subscribed!
