It's a funny thing, this blogging habit. Life happens, lessons bounce around in my head for awhile, the evening proves quiet enough to process the thought, and--voila!--a narrative spills out into thin air to which I hit the "publish" button.
Then people come over from their Bloglines or Google accounts. They read it. And now they know a little more about me than they did yesterday: how I think, what's important to me, what happened this week, how I'm praying for my children, how disgusted I am with the current state of our society...
Oops, there I go again. Thinking aloud. Ahem.
Where was I?
Sometimes, visitors will click around the archives or the "Best of Posts" section in my sidebar. I'm always especially curious about those people who are doing that from my own city. Hmmmm? Do I know them? Who are they? How did they get here? And...are we still friends when they finish finding out what I really think?
My most interesting moments have come with real life friends who read this blog. There aren't too many--at least not many I know of--but what's interesting is the loss of perspective that some suffer when they read and read and read over the course of weeks or months in between times of face-to-face fellowship. They tend to forget that just because they know more about me than my mother does, our conversation hasn't been reciprocal.
I don't know what's going on in their lives. And unless they leave a comment, I don't even know what they think about what they know about me and what I'm thinking.
Follow?
It occurred to me the other day during our daily morning devotion and "rabbit trail" discussion that it's a little like my walk with the Lord Jesus. Surely, unlike me with my friends, He is omniscient--knowing everything and more about me. And clearly, we are in His Word--learning more about Him; hiding it in our hearts; incorporating His wisdom into our daily walk; relying upon His grace to keep His commands. But when I neglect the discipline of deep, thoughtful, private prayer, I am neglecting the delight of reciprocity in this wonderful relationship with my Savior.
I need to remember to talk to Him more. One on one. With purpose. Without rushing. Even without agenda.
Just plain, slow, leisurely fellowship.
And it sounds so good that I think I'll go do just that right now.
16 comments:
Wow! The Lord just confirmed for me through you what I'm missing in my life right now. How does it manage to slip so far into the distance. As I go busily about all the things that need to be done, I find myself pondering why things are so out of sorts. The small voice states prayer, Bible, Jesus. Mmmhmm, I reply back.
Then, here it is in black and white. I got it, now to make time to DO it.
I do so love to read your post. It isn't just what you say, it is how you say it.
Thanks.
Excellent post!
Amen! I was just thinking this morning that I need some alone time--time that is just me and God without kidlets interrupting every few minutes. I need the conversation because the intimacy seems sparse. Thank you for your words of confirmation.
Your profound insights have hit home with me again, GB. And I love the analogy you used. How can those who read our stuff get full understanding of what we think without reciprocity? And how can we possibly know the mind of our Savior without taking the time to talk to Him, commune with Him, and spend time pouring over the love letter He's given us in the form of His word? We can't. Thanks for the reminder.
Wonderful thoughts! How true and what a challenge. Thank you for sharing!
As a sidenote... I, for one, very much enjoy getting to know you and your family via blog, though often time does not permit me to leave comments as much as I desire to. ;o)
~ Christina
I couldn't agree more. I've been trying harder than ever to spend more quality time with God, and I feel so bad about the fact that He has such little time focused directly on Him in my life. How is it that I'm trying to fit God into my schedule?!? Shouldn't He dictate the entire schedule?
I truly see a difference in my life when He is the priority, yet so often He slips into the background. I wonder what it'll take for me to finally give Him the proper place in my life?
Thanks for a great message to start my day. I needed to hear it, as I suspect we all do.
Any realization that we need to spend more time with our Lord gets an AMEN from me!
You have such a way of making me think of things in ways I've never thought of before.
Thank you.
That was awesome. I think I'll go spend some time in prayer as well.
This is the second time tonight that a blog friend's words have hit me right between the eyes! I am thankful I stayed up late enough to catch up!
I am behind and just enjoyed the previous post as well.
Well thought through. I didn't see where you were going at first but I really like that comparison. And it's a well taken note. My prayer life/quiet time has really been suffering. It'd be easy to blame being a new dad, but that wouldn't be honest. Lily sleeps like a dream. You hit a key word: discipline. Busyness cannot be an excuse. I think it was Martin Luther that stated the the busier he got the more he prayed. Imagine that. Thanks for the wakeup call! :)
This has been on my heart as well. Not just a relationship with Jesus, but intimacy.
And oh, how I needed to hear it from someone else as well.
Thanks for the thoughts.
How very clever to use blogging in this analogy. You know for sure everyone who reads this post is going to "get it."
I got it. Thank you for the reminder.
Your analogy between blogging and prayer is insightful. Nice post.
Your post is so well stated. Thank you for the reminder. And just so you know, I am leaving my good word here so that you don't wonder ... who is this person from Texas? And do they still like me after reading my post? :-) I actually came to your post through a comment left on Orangehouse's blog, whose I found by searching for people who listed Papua New Guinea as an interest. So, there, that should make it all nice and clear. :-) ha!
Seriously, the post is very convicting. Thank you! God bless!
sharon
Hello! Found you through Terry's blog... which I found through Caroline's blog. Nice to meet you!
I think we all need more time in God's Word, but mostly just the being attentive is what's lacking with me sometimes.
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