These days I'm having a love/hate relationship with the internet. Maybe I always have but lately it seems that the "hate" side it gaining ground.
Who knew twenty years ago how much this form of communication would connect and divide us? With the continual onslaught of information we have some to care so much that we run out of energy to care enough.
I'll admit it, I don't know where to draw the line.
I've tried cutting out certain social media (yes Facebook, I'm talking about you) but I have some great connections there. Amidst the clutter and the noise and the fighting and the photos I have found old friends who encourage me, challenge my thinking and help to feed my soul and spirit.
At one time I was linked to six groups related to having a child with special needs, a Trisomy or the exact condition The Princess was born with. Four groups for buying/selling locally. One to keep up with our friend's ministries.
Then there are those who want to be "friends" because of interactions in these groups.
Then there are the pages I have "liked" so they fill my feed with photos and announcements.
Then there are the family members who have adorable children doing adorable things in adorable photos.
There are things I don't want to miss and things I can't unsee.
In my list there are ongoing theological arguments, conversations and truly inspirational moments of sharing.
There are people to pray for, boycotts to join, illnesses, trials, triumphs and endless causes.
Things that galvanize us and things that just cause outrage.
There are photos of projects I want to do, food I need to make and clothing I want to wear.
Is it possible to know too much?
How do we separate opinions from facts?
When do these online connections aid us in living in the reality outside of the internet?
When is too much not enough?
Those of you reading this probably wouldn't have found me without some form of social media. I dare say the majority has showed up through Facebook.
So, what do I do?
I'm going to connect outside of here and see what happens.
I'm purposing to meet up with more people in real life.
I'm going to take more naps. (That has nothing to do with the internet but I like naps.)
I'm going to encourage you, my readers, to find a human, face to face, voice to voice to connect with today.
How do you survive the clutter of social media? What do you do to keep what is good and ignore the rest? How do you make the internet work for you instead of against you? How do we make sure that those things that connect us in one way don't separate us in others?
Always,
Hope
 |
| Garden Lettuce |
I just came in from working in my little garden.
I pulled weeds, picked tomatoes, left a zucchini to grow a little more and I pondered.
I pondered a lot.
These are my lessons from my garden today.
Very early on I should have spent more time in my young garden. As the new sprouts emerged, a daily visit or two to my raised beds would have allowed me to know my plants. To know where they were growing, their unique characteristics, if they needed more water or how healthy they were or if bugs were causing destruction. I could discover disease or decide if deer netting was needed. Paying attention to them as if in a relationship, I would know when things change, when growth is taking place and when I need to intervene.
Recognizing weeds would be so much easier.
Weeds needs to be pulled often. The more we neglect them the more insidious they become. They wrap themselves around other plants, choking them of life and robbing them of producing good food. Instead of putting off a little bit every day or so, waiting had consequences. It isn't impossible, it just ends up feeling like it is. It becomes easy to give up when you can't tell the difference between a plant and a weed.
When I rip the weeds from the ground I have to use a balanced hand that is both gentle yet firm. If I pull too hard I pull out the sweet food I'm growing or worse destroy an entire plant. The weeds I have are like little vines that make their way up the stock. It seems impossible to differentiate between the plant and the weed. If I'm not firm enough the root stays in, growing back with a vengeance.
This was such a beautiful picture of why I am passionate about community. When we sit face to face with one another we begin to see those things that need attention. We notice our own weeds and growth and fruit and pests and the places that need protection. We can gently speak to each other through relationship because we know where to apply the water of the Word. We understand that some days we need to gently pull with a steady firmness so the weeds growing in the hearts of those we love can be unearthed for removal. Just like I would never leave the weeds to take over my garden, it would be unloving for me to leave a friend in the place where things have entered their heart that are squeezing the life from their lives.
This week I found this lovely quote and it resonated with me.
"Grace: having a relationship with someone's heart, not their behavior." -Bianca Olthoff
It struck a nerve because I have been saved by grace. The gentle hands of love in my life are those that have helped me recognize those things that the Word of God have seeded in my heart. Those hurts that have become grudges, those offenses that have trapped me into places I have not been called to be.
It has been the gentle but firm hand of grace and truth that has led me safely to a place of growth. A fruitful garden, planted by my Creator that can grow because of the water, because it gets weeded through the reading of His Word and the relationships of other Saints who shine a light in the those places.
Another thing my garden thrives on is the light of the sun. The garden of my heart thrives in the beauty of His Son. When I spend time communing with Him, in relationship with Him because I'm drawn by His grace and love and mercy. That's when I really grow, even when no one is watching.
Always,
Hope
