Coffee Date No. 10
If we were on a coffee date, I would tell you that I've given up social networks for Lent. If you've clicked over from Facebook or Twitter, you might be wondering how and why it appears that I'm posting to the sites, and the answer is the publicize feature on my blog. It allows me to share posts to Facebook and Twitter without actually having to visit those sites. Anyway, I would tell you that I looked up the rules for Lent, because I thought that Sundays were exempt from fasting. The site I looked up said that whether or not someone fasts on Sunday is up to their individual conscience. Knowing my own lack of self-discipline, this made me more than a little itchy, so I just decided to give it up for good, with no off days, until Easter. What makes this hard is that I basically have zero accountability. I'm alone for long spans during the day, so if I were to log in, there wouldn't be anyone to call me out. But I have to say, I have made it this far (almost a week as of the day I'm writing this section) and thanks to Hulu, it hasn't been that difficult.
If we were on a coffee date, I would ask what your thoughts are on Lent. I guess I never really understood it until I became an adult, and until God sweetly and patiently started showing me the areas in my life where I was worshipping other things. I used to think that that sounded really extreme, but the devil is way more sneaky. I see what other people have, and am quick to believe that I will be more whole once I attain those things. I believe they will make me feel better, but in the end, I only feel the holy conviction that comes with realizing that Jesus is the only true life-giving thing, and that I should be craving more of him.
If we were on a coffee date, I'd share that my husband's hard work and dedication at his new(ish) job was met with the word salary a couple weeks ago. I cannot put into words how proud I am of him. This feels a bit like coming full circle after everything that happened in October. If not full circle, then the home stretch, at least. I'll be honest, I still don't know what God's plans were when C lost his job five months ago, but he has done more than enough to prove himself a faithful provider in the weeks and months since. Even though most days my mind was fraught with worry, my heart knew that we would be taken care of. The company he is working with is a very small business, but they have felt like family from day one, and they have been so gracious to make room for us. I couldn't be more grateful.
If we were on a coffee date, I would gush about the latest episode of This is Us. No spoilers, but of course, I sobbed. The scene with the mailman was especially poignant, because it made me really think about how my life has the potential to impact the lives of those around me. I want to be the kind of neighbor who people can come and ask to borrow a cup of sugar from, and it makes me sad that we don't really do that anymore. In the spirit of transparency, I don't know a single one of our neighbors. We're all so busy coming and going that we forget the simple truth that we belong to each other. Do you know your neighbors?
If we were on a coffee date, I might tell you about a conversation I had with a girlfriend recently about having children. Specifically, about the kind of children we want to raise. My ideal picture of having a family currently looks like adopting in addition to having my own children. I think I've always liked the idea of adopting, but over the past few years, the Lord has really laid it on my heart to open my home to children who don't share my DNA and might not look like me. Anyway, I told my friend that I don't care what they look like, what they wind up being good at, or who they wind up choosing to love. All I want is to raise my babies to be kind and generous people who follow Jesus.
If we were on a coffee date, I'd ask how your heart is. What you're praying for, if you feel seen, how you're growing in ways that surprise you, what you're struggling with, and what you're celebrating. And I'd try to be honest when I tell you about mine. We wouldn't talk about how God doesn't give us more than we can handle, because in my experience (and I'm guessing, yours too) God is always gently nudging me farther and farther away from my comfort zone. I wouldn't offer any bumper sticker slogans, because they just don't cut it. Instead, I would ask how I can pray for you, and I would pray right then and there. And I would probably cry, because when am I not crying?
What would you tell me on our coffee date? Spill your guts in the comments, link up your own post, or, you can always email me.