Share your light

Historically, I have not been one to make and keep New Year’s resolutions. I’m the kind of girl who decides on a 60-day sugar fast, eats broccoli and hard-boiled eggs for a few days, and then inhales that carton of rocky road faster than an unsupervised child eats Halloween candy. While consistency is not my shining attribute, I admit that not all of my personal goal-setting experiences are a total flop. I’ve learned over the years that the greater the necessity of my ambitions, the greater chance I will have of achievement. But when success is crucial, I find myself victorious.

This year, I decided to prune back my social media engagement. My social media feed had once been filled with beautiful baby announcements, family photos, and high school graduates. It was my source to connect with the sick neighbor in need of a hot meal, the mother in need of a sitter, and the friend who appeared lonely and in need of fellowship. It kept me on track with birthdays. Contrary opinions among friends sometimes led to stimulating discussions that were built on decency and mutual respect. In short, it had once been a source of great LIGHT.

But 2020 brought to social media a standard of ugly that I never assumed imaginable. Families and friendships unraveled. Mutual respect was lost. Divisiveness ensued. And while hiding behind screens and keyboards, hurtful and damaging words were spoken--words that otherwise could never muster enough courage to be spoken face to face. Sadly, it became a place of darkness—a place so dark that I could scarcely find the light. What is light? Scriptural references symbolize light as being the presence of goodness, knowledge, purity, and grace. Light is the presence of hope, holiness, and wisdom; darkness is the absence of light. In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, he said unto the multitudes, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

I decided that 2021 would be the ultimate year of change. This year I would seek out and surround myself with “light.” This quest for light started with a year-long commitment to staying off social media. I committed to real people. Real friends. Real relationships. In the time I would usually spend in a heated debate on Facebook, I faithfully read aloud to my children every evening before tucking them in to bed. I made sure every dirty dish was loaded into the dishwasher at the end of the day instead of carelessly wasting time on my phone.

When seeking advice on hefty life decisions, I consulted those who had lasting meaning and value to me. I did not need the somewhat artificial validation and recognition that social media provided for my personal accomplishments. Instead, I drew encouragement and support from real people who supported my efforts. I connected with friends and cousins over the phone whom I hadn’t spoken to in years. Instead of simply posting my opinions about positive change, I made efforts to be the positive change. I volunteered in my community, went to school board meetings, and volunteered to be an election official. Over time, I was surrounded with friends and neighbors who inspired me, encouraged me, and who lived a life that I longed to exemplify. I sought out light amidst the darkness.

After three months “social media-free,” I have yet to be cast out as the stone-aged weirdo whose primary source of communication is actually calling someone on the phone. I now see light through small and simple means that bring lasting joy: a clean and empty sink without dirty dishes; a fitness instructor who always cheers my cause; my children, who refuse to go to bed without mom reading a few more chapters; a community that I am proud to call my own; friends who disagree with me but are willing to engage in meaningful discussions.

Should you need to get ahold of me, just give me a call or stop on by. Chances are we’ll share a bowl of rocky road, a meaningful discussion, and I’ll send you on your way with my children’s most recent and favorite read-aloud, Summer of the Monkeys. Oh, and I’ll do the dishes.

Katie McKee is a pediatric ICU nurse, a mama of three, and an avid outdoorswoman. She loves to fish, four-wheel and is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.