The Social Media Question...and a Personal Call

Recently, after a debate on the  pro's and con's of social media, I was asked why I decided to write a blog.  Good question.  With all the research that I’ve seen lately on the effects of social media, maybe it’s time to seriously consider the answer to that one.  It’s true, isn’t it, that frequently visiting  Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, and the large number of creative blog sites on the Internet, often leaves us in a state of discontent?  Seriously!  I tend to visit these sites when I have down time, when life is on hold, when nothing of interest is happening...  Most of us do, of course.  However, it only takes one cute craft, or home décor, or new recipe, or intriguing status, or perfect picture of somebody on their amazing trip to Rome, or upbeat blog to leave me in a state of envy, or worse, momentarily dissatisfied with my life.  Face it, in a world where performance and perfection are heralded as king and queen, social outlets give us all an opportunity to create a persona that is air-brushed and unreal.  In turn, relationships become masked, and I easily hide behind a newly created identity.  The issues of life deepen when I compare myself to someone else’s presentation of their world.  Comparison is always the chief thief of joy.  So, at the end of the day, I not only still fall short of performance and perfection, I’m in despair.  (Keep in mind, this is not all the time...but it does happen.)

So, I’ve asked myself the question, “Just why am I doing this...REALLY?”  Possible answers that came to me are:

• I want a small voice in a big world.
• I’m desirous of significance, a pat on the back, a “like,” or an affirmative comment (OK...let's call it what it is...pride).
• I feel compelled to share what I’m learning about life, and hope that others relate, and a message of hope is created. I want a purpose beyond myself.
• My passion is Jesus & re-presenting His truth.
• It’s a way to organize my jumbled thoughts in a journaling journey.

At one time or another, all of these are true.  At times, it is just what it is...a way to stay connected, to share my journey, and at the same time to have a purpose that’s beyond me by having a Jesus-voice.  Years ago, when I started a weekly devotional thought (back when I first came to ACU there was no such thing as a “blog” and I taped these thoughts on the doors of the girls in the residence hall), my hope was to have a vehicle for messages from Jesus, a truth on which to reflect...a spiritual kick-start for the week.  My life isn’t perfect – I have a whole lot to learn, even still – I just wanted those who read (past and present tense) to know they don’t have to be perfect either...we’re just on a messy journey together toward completion, and sharing our stories is a way to encourage each other to lean harder into the one who will accomplish that in us.

When we were leaving Kenya (wow, that was a long time ago, now), God illuminated a verse for me with blinking lights and issued me a personal calling.  This verse is found in Romans 9:17 (an odd verse, because it was referring to the not-so-spiritual Pharaoh of Egypt):  For this purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.  Indeed, nail scarred hands once “raised me up” and turned me, the mess, into a vessel of honor, in order to be a demonstration of his power perfected in weakness, a mouth piece proclaiming his name...

That’s my hopeful answer to the blog question (or social media in general).  I want to simply be about my calling, using whatever medium is available.  While I will fight the same temptations that come with this territory, my desire is to simply follow where led, prayerfully examining my life, reviewing the lessons God is teaching me, and sharing when appropriate...

...BUT, never compromising the call.