FOMO

Recently a member of my quilt guild posted an announcement on our guild’s Facebook page. She was downsizing her considerable collection of fabric, notion, and patterns and would be holding a “destash” giveaway. Women quickly posted more than 80 comments with enthusiastic responses. I was about to join in. Then I caught myself. My quilt studio is filled with fabric—probably more than I’ll use in this lifetime. Why was I so ready to jump into the destash?

This was a plain case of FOMO, or “fear of missing out.” It was the giveaway of the decade, and I wanted to be part of it!  Maybe you’ve experienced FOMO a few times too. You didn’t want to miss out on something big.

Social media amplifies our fear of missing out by allowing us to compare our normal lives with the often highly curated lives of others shown in social media.

Have you ever heard anyone speak of FOMO and faith? I haven’t. But why not? When we think about God’s gift of eternal life, isn’t that the ultimate big thing we don’t want to miss out on? Isn’t life in Christ even more exciting than a quilt destash or a blowout sale?

This message is an excerpt from “Grace Notes: Fear of missing out” by Linda Post Bushkofsky in the March 2021 issue of Gather.

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