“And blessed are all they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost.” –3 Nephi 12:6
Hey, Friends.
You’ve probably noticed I’ve been gone a while. Some of you have probably wondered if I was ever coming back. I’ll explain all that in a minute. But first, a story.
Last Sunday, I became acquainted with a lovely young woman who is a senior in high school. As we chatted together, the two of us exchanged social media information. When I told her that my blog and instagram are called @godisgoodtothejohnsons, she exclaimed, “No way! That’s my phrase, ‘God is good.’ I say it all the time.”
I grinned at her. “I say it all the time too! That’s a neat thing we have in common.”
Her smile wavered a bit when next, she added, “I used to have a bumper sticker on my car that said ‘God is Good’ on it. But some kids at school ripped it off.
“I’m so sorry,” I said.
“Yeah,” she said. “I got a lot of crap about it. But that’s okay. I’m gonna buy another one.”
“Good for you,” I said.
I left that meeting with a lot of emotions in my head and heart. Firstly, I was super impressed with this confident, kind eighteen-year-old girl and her commitment to talk about God, no matter how her peers treated her. Secondly, I felt a deep longing in my heart to be like her. Thirdly, I felt a deep seated nudge to get going on this blog again.
Which brings me back to explaining.
2020 messed with all of us in one way or another, right? Well, one of the ways it messed with me was my relationship with social media. Starving to see people and paralyzed by the effects of the pandemic, I turned to social media Way. Too. Often. You all lived through it so I won’t elaborate, but seeing people I love battling each other on the internet over conflicting views on the pandemic and racial injustice and the election . . . it wounded my heart. I couldn’t handle it.
So, virtually, I disappeared. I deleted my facebook, deleted my instagram, created a new instagram, and then promptly quit posting on it. I dropped watching YouTube. I forgot all about this blog. I resorted to existing in a mid-2000’s era communication style: email, phone, and seeing people in person.
And you know what? So many of my relationships improved dramatically.
Friends I hadn’t talked to in years connected with me again via phonecall, texting, and even handwritten letters. We shared old jokes and made new memories.
Photos on family trips became less something I wanted to post and more something I wanted to cherish and look through on my own, occasionally texting my favorites to close family members and friends.
I was elated to learn when my friend was pregnant, because she told me IN PERSON, instead of via social media post. I can’t express to you how fun it is to find out the big details about a friend’s life from them in REAL TIME, face to face or voice to voice.
An absence of social media plus a heaping helping of therapy taught me about comparison and how he really is a joy thief.
I learned about confidence coming from owning who I am, remembering I’m a child of God, and following Jesus Christ.
This social media absence has changed my life, and I wouldn’t change anything I did. No regrets. The lessons I learned this past year and a half are invaluable to me. Now, while I learned what I don’t want from social media, I also learned what I do want from it, too.
This is what I love about social media, and this is the role it will play in my life from now on:
And that’s why I’m back. Like my young friend, I want the world to know that no matter how many times they try to rip it away, they can’t take away what I know: that God is Good.
Today is Easter Sunday, my friends. Today I raise my hands up and shout HALLELUJAH! I am firm in my knowledge that Jesus is the Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is my Redeemer, my Advocate, my Lord, my Big Brother, my Friend, my Example, the person who gets all the pain and all the beauty of my life. He cries with me. He laughs with me. He is the Man who reached his hands into the depths of my greatest agony and, in a way that is too sacred to share online, rescued me from drowning in it. Jesus Christ is not just the Savior of the world. He is the Savior of Mikayla Johnson.
I KNOW CHRIST LIVES. And this blog is one of the most beautiful ways for me to share that.
Happy Sabbath. It’s good to be back!
Your friend,
Mikayla
The Lord is My Shepherd by Yongsung Kim (source: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/easter/downloads)
Hey, Friends.
You’ve probably noticed I’ve been gone a while. Some of you have probably wondered if I was ever coming back. I’ll explain all that in a minute. But first, a story.
Last Sunday, I became acquainted with a lovely young woman who is a senior in high school. As we chatted together, the two of us exchanged social media information. When I told her that my blog and instagram are called @godisgoodtothejohnsons, she exclaimed, “No way! That’s my phrase, ‘God is good.’ I say it all the time.”
I grinned at her. “I say it all the time too! That’s a neat thing we have in common.”
Her smile wavered a bit when next, she added, “I used to have a bumper sticker on my car that said ‘God is Good’ on it. But some kids at school ripped it off.
“I’m so sorry,” I said.
“Yeah,” she said. “I got a lot of crap about it. But that’s okay. I’m gonna buy another one.”
“Good for you,” I said.
I left that meeting with a lot of emotions in my head and heart. Firstly, I was super impressed with this confident, kind eighteen-year-old girl and her commitment to talk about God, no matter how her peers treated her. Secondly, I felt a deep longing in my heart to be like her. Thirdly, I felt a deep seated nudge to get going on this blog again.
Which brings me back to explaining.
2020 messed with all of us in one way or another, right? Well, one of the ways it messed with me was my relationship with social media. Starving to see people and paralyzed by the effects of the pandemic, I turned to social media Way. Too. Often. You all lived through it so I won’t elaborate, but seeing people I love battling each other on the internet over conflicting views on the pandemic and racial injustice and the election . . . it wounded my heart. I couldn’t handle it.
So, virtually, I disappeared. I deleted my facebook, deleted my instagram, created a new instagram, and then promptly quit posting on it. I dropped watching YouTube. I forgot all about this blog. I resorted to existing in a mid-2000’s era communication style: email, phone, and seeing people in person.
And you know what? So many of my relationships improved dramatically.
Friends I hadn’t talked to in years connected with me again via phonecall, texting, and even handwritten letters. We shared old jokes and made new memories.
Photos on family trips became less something I wanted to post and more something I wanted to cherish and look through on my own, occasionally texting my favorites to close family members and friends.
I was elated to learn when my friend was pregnant, because she told me IN PERSON, instead of via social media post. I can’t express to you how fun it is to find out the big details about a friend’s life from them in REAL TIME, face to face or voice to voice.
An absence of social media plus a heaping helping of therapy taught me about comparison and how he really is a joy thief.
I learned about confidence coming from owning who I am, remembering I’m a child of God, and following Jesus Christ.
This social media absence has changed my life, and I wouldn’t change anything I did. No regrets. The lessons I learned this past year and a half are invaluable to me. Now, while I learned what I don’t want from social media, I also learned what I do want from it, too.
This is what I love about social media, and this is the role it will play in my life from now on:
- Art. I love seeing what my friends paint, draw, sing, write, play, sculpt, bake, sew, etc. on social media. And golly, I love sharing my own art here, too.
- Small businesses. Whether an Etsy shop, cottage foods bakery, or my beloved Red Barn (I miss you Santaquin!), social media is imperative to spreading the word and helping a small business thrive.
- Long-distance communication. There are people in Argentina, Honduras, Mexico, and elsewhere that I haven’t had the chance to talk to these 18 months. Since facebook is their main channel for communication, I’ve missed talking to them.
- Service. Whether spreading the word about a fundraiser for a family in need or a community project for refugees abroad, social media is so effective at helping us know how to help each other and getting the ball rolling.
- Sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Whether religious leaders or good friends, I am uplifted and enlightened by these great people sharing the good news about our Good Lord on social media. With all the filth that Satan and his followers are pumping into the internet, I am grateful for every single person who shares a message about Jesus Christ. Their message is a light that cuts through the darkness.
And that’s why I’m back. Like my young friend, I want the world to know that no matter how many times they try to rip it away, they can’t take away what I know: that God is Good.
Today is Easter Sunday, my friends. Today I raise my hands up and shout HALLELUJAH! I am firm in my knowledge that Jesus is the Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is my Redeemer, my Advocate, my Lord, my Big Brother, my Friend, my Example, the person who gets all the pain and all the beauty of my life. He cries with me. He laughs with me. He is the Man who reached his hands into the depths of my greatest agony and, in a way that is too sacred to share online, rescued me from drowning in it. Jesus Christ is not just the Savior of the world. He is the Savior of Mikayla Johnson.
I KNOW CHRIST LIVES. And this blog is one of the most beautiful ways for me to share that.
Happy Sabbath. It’s good to be back!
Your friend,
Mikayla
The Lord is My Shepherd by Yongsung Kim (source: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/easter/downloads)
I love this so much. Amen to everything you said!
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