For Everything There is a Season...
Two years ago, our family visited Disney World for the first time as a family of four. (Except the one day we spent there when Will was very newly growing in my tummy!) We realized at some point during the planning that this would be our very first trip we had taken as a family of four that didn't include other family members or friends. Mixed emotions of excitement and an expectancy of complete and utter exhaustion filled us. Disney tends to be 24/7 on the go, and we wouldn't have back up.
It turned out to be the trip of a lifetime for our family. There was a noticeable absence of sibling arguments and harassment. Standing in lines, something that would normally spark complaining and whining, was about as enjoyable as could be. (It helped that strategic planning on the front end ensured that no wait was longer than 15 minutes for us...) We laughed. We learned new things about each other. We ate a lot of yummy treats, rode a lot of really fun rides, saw some cool characters and experienced a lot of firsts together. We purchased a photo plan, so our cell phones were tucked away freeing us from the distraction of that. It was truly a phenomenal week. One that has yet to be beat, as far as vacations go. We returned to the hotel each evening and hit the sack immediately. There was very little time for communicating with the real world outside of the most magical place on Earth.
Late the evening we returned home, I started an upload of photos from my Disney app to Facebook. Those photos stayed up about 30 minutes at the most before I took them down. A few saw and commented, but it was late, so most never knew they'd been there.
I can't explain why, but something about posting the pictures of our week seemed to take away from the sacredness of it all. I tried explaining that to a few who asked about our photos, and my explanation was met with awkward stares and "oh, ok..." comments-and I can't blame them. It didn't make sense to me either. I like to share and enjoy social media, but posting those photos almost made me feel sick inside. Taking them down seemed to cure that. There were so many special moments shared within the safe confines of our family that going public with the pictures behind those moments felt a little like the magic of it all had been tainted. There were so many just sweetly blessed moments that the pictures, wonderful as they were, could not capture. (Yes, I do realize even two years later how weird this all sounds...but hang with me, there's a faith connection here...)
It's been many months since I've written anything and posted it here on my little corner of the internet world. Even before my last entry, posts were scarce. There have been many times when I've opened the screen to start typing, done just that, then deleted it all before clicking publish. There have been other times of yearning to write and sensing God telling me no. Wait. Times a story has been on the tips of my fingers, itching to be released, and yet sharing didn't feel right. It's almost the exact feeling I experienced with my Disney World pictures. "A time to be silent..." The thing about this "place" on the web is, I am very serious about only writing and sharing as the Lord leads, because I never want this blog to be about me. He birthed this desire to write within me, and by Him it will be guided. "If anyone speaks, He should do it as one speaking the very words of God..." 2 Peter 4:11
The last year or so has been filled with God just taking me to a new place, a deeper level of trust in my relationship with Him. Some of the things that have unfolded haven't been things that I would have chosen, and quite honestly things I've wished weren't part of my story. Seasons where I've struggled greatly, and seasons when I have been strong. Moments when I shine spiritually, and seconds later fail miserably at portraying a Christ like love or mindset. I'm good and then I'm not. I'm strong and then I'm weak, and with every season, every moment, He's shown me something deeply personal about Who He is. He's challenged me to take the focus off of who I am, or who I am not, and shift my perspective to who He is. So many of these things have just felt too sacred and raw to share at the time, yet I want to be obedient to the calling I've felt on my life to just be open and honest about where I am and who He is. How He is strong in my weakness, how he dispels my fears, how He offers me fresh mercy with each dawning day. Lately, I am beginning to sense a new season on the horizon. A time to share. A time to go forth with what He has revealed to me, for the glory of declaring who He is. "A time to speak..."
It turned out to be the trip of a lifetime for our family. There was a noticeable absence of sibling arguments and harassment. Standing in lines, something that would normally spark complaining and whining, was about as enjoyable as could be. (It helped that strategic planning on the front end ensured that no wait was longer than 15 minutes for us...) We laughed. We learned new things about each other. We ate a lot of yummy treats, rode a lot of really fun rides, saw some cool characters and experienced a lot of firsts together. We purchased a photo plan, so our cell phones were tucked away freeing us from the distraction of that. It was truly a phenomenal week. One that has yet to be beat, as far as vacations go. We returned to the hotel each evening and hit the sack immediately. There was very little time for communicating with the real world outside of the most magical place on Earth.
Late the evening we returned home, I started an upload of photos from my Disney app to Facebook. Those photos stayed up about 30 minutes at the most before I took them down. A few saw and commented, but it was late, so most never knew they'd been there.
I can't explain why, but something about posting the pictures of our week seemed to take away from the sacredness of it all. I tried explaining that to a few who asked about our photos, and my explanation was met with awkward stares and "oh, ok..." comments-and I can't blame them. It didn't make sense to me either. I like to share and enjoy social media, but posting those photos almost made me feel sick inside. Taking them down seemed to cure that. There were so many special moments shared within the safe confines of our family that going public with the pictures behind those moments felt a little like the magic of it all had been tainted. There were so many just sweetly blessed moments that the pictures, wonderful as they were, could not capture. (Yes, I do realize even two years later how weird this all sounds...but hang with me, there's a faith connection here...)
It's been many months since I've written anything and posted it here on my little corner of the internet world. Even before my last entry, posts were scarce. There have been many times when I've opened the screen to start typing, done just that, then deleted it all before clicking publish. There have been other times of yearning to write and sensing God telling me no. Wait. Times a story has been on the tips of my fingers, itching to be released, and yet sharing didn't feel right. It's almost the exact feeling I experienced with my Disney World pictures. "A time to be silent..." The thing about this "place" on the web is, I am very serious about only writing and sharing as the Lord leads, because I never want this blog to be about me. He birthed this desire to write within me, and by Him it will be guided. "If anyone speaks, He should do it as one speaking the very words of God..." 2 Peter 4:11
The last year or so has been filled with God just taking me to a new place, a deeper level of trust in my relationship with Him. Some of the things that have unfolded haven't been things that I would have chosen, and quite honestly things I've wished weren't part of my story. Seasons where I've struggled greatly, and seasons when I have been strong. Moments when I shine spiritually, and seconds later fail miserably at portraying a Christ like love or mindset. I'm good and then I'm not. I'm strong and then I'm weak, and with every season, every moment, He's shown me something deeply personal about Who He is. He's challenged me to take the focus off of who I am, or who I am not, and shift my perspective to who He is. So many of these things have just felt too sacred and raw to share at the time, yet I want to be obedient to the calling I've felt on my life to just be open and honest about where I am and who He is. How He is strong in my weakness, how he dispels my fears, how He offers me fresh mercy with each dawning day. Lately, I am beginning to sense a new season on the horizon. A time to share. A time to go forth with what He has revealed to me, for the glory of declaring who He is. "A time to speak..."
For everything there is a season...
a time to be born and a time to die
a time to plant and a time to uproot
a time to kill and a time to heal
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time for love and a time for hate,
a time for war and a time for peace...
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
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