In 2006 or so, my husband and I decided to reduce our cable expenses and only pay for the near-minimum service. We figured all we watched was public broadcasting and the Discovery Channel anyway - so easy enough to do. No problem.
As 2010 entered, this oh-so-slight-niggle crept into our hearts that despite our admission that we only ever watched PBS & the Discovery Channel, we really were watching too much television. Yeah - we probably agreed with the 'niggle'...
Spring of 2011 came around - and with it? Spring Cleaning! Woohoo! Craigslist here we come! And we did. The desk purchased with such high ambitions a few years previously, had proved to be rather a space hog. Except - on it sat the TV and the cable box. (And no, we didn't sell the TV, patience here!) So - listed it on Craigslist.
Craigslist. The means of much character transformation. Lady called to check out the desk. Dutifully I disconnected everything and cleaned it out. She came. She went. Pronounced it 'not the right size'. Too annoyed to re-connect everything and repost on Craigslist - there it sat. For 3 months. Toddler running around - no time to watch it anyway.
Came home one day and had a discussion with hubby. Why do we continue to pay this bill and we're not even watching the TV? So - called the provider - cancelled the service. Promptly relisted the desk on Craigslist. Sold like wildfire.
Then we were without a TV.
Did I mention we were THEN WITHOUT A TV?
I had physical withdrawal symptoms for 6 MONTHS! Truth. Sure, I could watch something on our computer - and I may have. I don't recall. What I remember is the physical cravings for the crazy television lasted for six months! And every time I had one, the thought went through my head: I cannot believe how physically addicted I was to that stinking television - this is crazy!
Hopefully you can see what I saw. Jesus was sooooo gentle with us. With me. He didn't 'cold turkey' me. Nope. Slowly, gradually, as I was able to accept the next step without failure - He led me on. No turning back my friend, no turning back. Our lives have been nothing but better without it.
Sure - we have a monitor and we watch sermons. But no, no Netflix. No Redbox. Sometimes a nature program free on Amazon Prime. Maybe even a trip to a movie theatre - though I suspect based on our last experience those days are nearly over. The battle over media has become so much clearer to us - once we ditched the television. This I know for SURE - we would have NEVER ditched the old TV without Jesus.
So thank You Jesus! Thank You for delivering us from our television...
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