woman looking at Facebook

46. The Power of Facebook for Good or Bad or Both?

I talk about energetic boundaries in this episode – if you want to learn more check out Episode 39 – 8 Ways to Strengthen Your Energetic Boundaries

Prayer Request

Screenshot 2014-11-27 12.35.52

One of the first things I did after I prayed with Rob and sent him off to rescue Devon from Mexico was to post a prayer request first to my prayer group and then to Facebook.

I learned the power of Facebook requests for prayers when Devon broke his Jaw and Arm and needed surgery that night.

I loved being able to call out for help and FEEL the prayers and support being offered.
So of course I reached out for help when I was sending Rob down to a dangerous area to rescue my son I thought had been robbed.  (It was only after he returned home I found out he had been kidnapped.)

Almost immediately I felt the strength of my friends prayers.

Not only did I feel the support from the prayers, things went as smoothly as possible for Rob and Devon.  AND through Friends and Facebook I was able to contact the missionaries in Ensenada who picked up Devon and kept him safe until Rob got him a few hours later.

I also asked for prayers as they approached the border to return home.  With Devon’s passport and licence stolen we were not sure how that was going to go.  It went fairly smoothly and I breathed a sigh of relief when they were across the border!  I also said a prayer of Praise to God!

Sharing the Story

On the 13th I posted a bullet point explanation of what happened on Facebook.  I knew people wanted an update, but I also knew Devon would be sharing his story at school and it sounds so unbelievable that most of his friends parents would think he was lying.  I only wish he was.

So around 3:30 I posted the break down of what happened.  (I posted it later as a blog post here.)

Almost immediately I felt my friends worry and fear.

Within minutes I started to feel horrible.  Like I just wanted to lay down on the floor, curl up and cry.  I couldn’t understand what was happening.  I had been handling things really well up to this point.  Why this sudden nose dive?  I couldn’t stop and curl up on the floor, as T3 had an orthodontist appointment and soccer.  So as I was driving there I was praying and asking why I felt so horrible.

The answer came quickly and clearly.  I was feeling all the emotion of the people reading my post.  They were horrified, scared, worried, sad, etc.  As I had felt the power of their prayers before, I was now feeling the power of their other emotions.  But this was not nearly as fun!

Luckily I had taken a great class the weekend before about protecting yourself from others emotions.  As an empathic person I have always strongly felt others emotions.  I have learned over the years how to balance that, but this class by Orchid helped even more.  So I quickly energetically put up a shield to everyone else’s emotions so that I could focus only on mine.  In order to be a healthy person and Mom I didn’t need to feel the weight of all THEIR fears, worries, etc.

I felt better almost immediately.

Later while journaling I pondered on what had happened.

I could see the web of fear, worry and shock that post created.  Connections between people  are good or bad.  With the speed of the internet I think it can be too quick and intense and can create a web like this.

messy web

Instead of what used to naturally emerge.  People talking one on one, sharing offering support, then sharing one on one with others.  It creates a web in a more healthy way.

healthy web

I definitely learned something from this.  Would I still post what happened on Facebook?  Maybe I would have done a blog post and referred people to that.  Then only those who really wanted to know would have clicked through and read it.  That may have slowed down the spread of the news.   I would also make sure I intentionally shielded myself before posting.  So I wouldn’t feel overwhelmed by others feelings.

But yes, I still would have shared it on Facebook.   I learned so much and wanted to share how God had been there every step of the way protecting Devon and helping us.  That is important to share!