I haven’t written anything in a while – just this
morning I was counting the months since I published my last regular blog post, which is silly to say because my blog hasn't had a regular publishing schedule for some time. I already wrote a blog
post this year about taking time off from writing. That time it was one month
since I had written last. This time it has been about four months.
Four. Four months of life, of hurts and joys, of stuff
like weddings and vacations and mission trips and middle school graduation and good
conversations and eating and drinking and hanging out with friends and family and
appointments and sports practices and games and tournaments and cleaning the
house and folding laundry and buying groceries and toilet paper and all that
regular jazz that everybody does but isn’t really worth mentioning except to
the people that know you best.
Four months is a long time, a suitcase full of
experiences. It’s also a blink, a whisper that you think you heard but aren’t
sure.
It’s enough time to wonder if you have it in you
to share what’s been happening. So much has happened, and yet nothing extraordinary
really has.
I have kept myself, my family, my life off the
blog during this time for various reasons, the biggest of which is that life
keeps changing and rolling so fast that I don’t have time to catch everyone up.
Kids are growing and thus more their own selves and less mine, and family life
has become more precious than ever. Time is flying by and I haven’t taken the
time to share any of it for four months, and it has become harder to start up
again.
I am by nature a pretty guarded person. I don’t
share easily, don’t make friends quickly, don’t ask questions or reveal much. I
have been vulnerable before, and have come away embarrassed, hurt, and full of
regret after a tell-all session that replays in my head until well after it
I think it should. I advise everyone – kids, friends – that “not everyone
thinks about you as much as you think about you” – and have yet to fully adopt
this advice. It gets worse when I’m out of the practice of sharing.
I feel like many of us are like this. Don’t we sort
of guard our hearts and what we really think from others, to keep and preserve that
which is most easily injured? The more time that passes, the harder it is to
open up again. This extends into every area of life, every relationship. It’s unhealthy
to keep things bottled up. I feel this acutely, especially during this time of
radio (blog) silence.
In these few months I have been reminded
regularly how wonderful a Counselor we have in Jesus. When life gets too much,
too fast, too extra, I have come to
him with it all: my sorrows and fears, worries and complaints – and he soothes
my soul.
Perhaps the best thing worth mentioning about the
past four months is that Jesus has been there for me – and I have really clung
to him. With Jesus, I don’t have to guard my heart or what I think. He knows my
life and who I am, and there is nothing more comforting than to know that I am
known and loved throughout this whirlwind of time. When I am busy doing and
running and living, but keeping it all inside, he is watching and helping and
guiding. He is my refuge, and his example led me to share this with all of you.
Dear God,
Your presence in my life is
miraculous, evident, and welcomed.
Help me to seek you first
during times of busy-ness, quietness and uncertainty;
ease my mind of the troubles of
the day.
Thank you, Amen.
*******
Beautiful post Andrea!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!
DeleteLovely post. I so identify with it all. Bless you, sister in Christ. The paragraph about Christ in your heart is a beautiful witness for others to see.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Tammy. We don't always realize how we're influencing others, and it's nice to get some encouragement from time to time. Your comment was a great encouragement. xoxo
DeleteSometimes when we think we haven't anything to say we actually have the most to say. Compelling blog reading has little to do with the details, and everything to do with the sentiment. You have a chance to think of such things as you taxi the loves of your life around!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Eli! This time of life is amazing and frustrating and I hope to remember little of the frustrating parts and most of the amazing ones.
DeleteI think it's quite fitting that our relationship with Jesus be easier than our relationships with other people. This post is a great reminder of that for me because lately I've been feeling like everything is just so hard with everyone I know. And I keep my circle very small.
ReplyDeleteMy heart is with you. Relationships are hardest for me during times of my own transition. Whether it's a change in relationships or other major life changes, I lean into God as I lean away from others. I am thankful for his presence.
DeleteI think it is always hard to share personal things when we wear our "social" faces. I am in much the same boat as you Andrea. Life began moving faster and I had a lot to deal with this year. That meant that writing blog posts went by the wayside. Then it got to the point that so much time had passed that it became easier just to avoid it. I find myself dipping back into blog reading and commenting, thanks to Eli Pacheco from Coach Daddy. And I'm so glad I did, because your post was a wonderful read I found myself nodding along with. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Cathy. I'm gad this resonated with you. I hope to get back to blog writing, reading and commenting regularly because it was a rich part of my life for a long time and like you said, it's easy to avoid when "real" life gets hard. Dipping my toes in right along with you.
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