A Modern Woman's Perspective On The Kingdom of God on Earth


December 8, 2014

Our Need To Connect

   
     I'm not sure what it is, but I am seeing people beginning to take their eyes off their cell phones and iPads, and showing signs that they want interpersonal connections.  I think it is more than just the nostalgia of the holidays; it is something from the deepest part of themselves that wants to make a significant difference in the lives of others.  There is a sense that they are to reach out to others and perhaps make life a little easier to understand; or to cope with; or to prepare for.
     Perhaps there is some inherent, spiritual factor that is at play.  For some, the recent racial tensions make everyone aware that we need to love and understand each other better.   For others, the world is a dangerous place, and they see a need to warn and protect.  And for others still, they are at a new stage in their life and want to ease the anxieties of the unfamiliar and unknown.  For whatever reason, all want to come out of the shadows of anonymity to share a part of themselves.
     For instance, our niece, Kaylee, surprised the family with the announcement that she has started a blog.  It is not some self-aggrandizing effort to promote every frivolous moment of her insular world.  What I mean is, this is not the usual pretentious ramblings of your average college freshman.  She has more to say than comments about the latest fashion fads, celebrity antics, or her friends' Facebook posts.
     She feels the need to share what God is putting on her heart as she begins this new stage of her life.  You can remember what that was like, right?  You're away from home, on your own, for the first time in your life, and facing new challenges and decisions that could have profound effects on how successful you are later in life.  There are moral and spiritual choices, as well as learning how to communicate and compromise with different kinds of people.  You are also beginning to develop your own path in life, and form your own value systems based on the foundational lessons you've acquired from your family ... and Kaylee wants to share that with the world.
     In her own words, she wants "to let it all out and release my thoughts and feelings that get bottled up inside me day to day, as I go about my college experience."  She has decided to write her very first post on the subject of LOVE.  But rather than some giddy adolescent discourse on the subject, Kaylee shares all the kinds of love she has known, and in the process, comes to this conclusion:  "Why am I explaining all these loves? Because in college that is what gets us through. We get sad or stressed or lonely ... and it’s loves and relationships we have that get us through. And in the end, it’s God love that got us to today and gets us to tomorrow."
     I'm sure that there are other college students who will identify with her thoughts, and it is my hope that she will write often and explore all the things she is experiencing with an eye towards how to encourage others and share her heart for God.  In this day when young adults can be immersed in the self-centered world of technology, Kaylee is using it to connect in a most personal and intimate way.  I'm sure many of all ages will be blessed by her reflections.  I am SO proud of her!
     But she's not the only one whom I've witnessed feeling the need to connect to others.  Recently, my husband and I had one of those God-incidences.  Through the common denominator of his artistic talent, he came into contact with a woman (Cecilia) interested in possibly commissioning a portrait.  But they soon realized that the reason their paths crossed was because their views of the world and spiritual matters were in complete harmony.  We agreed to meet for lunch, and were joined by her friend, Christine, who was clearly on the same spiritual path as the rest of us.
     What ensued was a three-hour conversation on everything from Prepper philosophies to firearms training to End Times theology.  Needless to say, we covered a lot of ground.  But it was the passion with which these two women wanted to connect with, and help, others that struck me as so encouraging.  They recognized that there are so many people in our nation that are beginning to exhibit signs of fear and apprehension about the future.  The forewarnings that we have been issuing for the last six years are finally being acknowledged.
     Cecilia and Christine are also wanting to start a blog, and their reasoning is so similar to what prompted me to begin this one.  They wanted to know why I didn't write more about becoming physically prepared in these increasingly difficult times.  I then explained that that was where my heart was when I began writing three years ago this week.  I, too, wanted women to see the importance of storing food; to exercise their Second Amendment rights; and to become skilled in sustainable living.  And I wrote extensively on that for the first year.
     But I think the Holy Spirit moves us in the direction in which we can best serve God at any particular moment.  My time to speak exclusively to those issues was done, and it was time to move on to other topics the Lord wanted me to communicate.  That being said, I encouraged them to pursue a blog along those lines ... I told them it is never too late to educate someone in order to help them endure hard times.  And I believe they will find some way that is unique to who God made them to be; that they will be successful in creating  a new way to speak to, and serve, their fellow man.
     Like I said at the beginning of this post, I am seeing people emerge out of our national stupor; feeling this immense need to connect with others -- and I truly believe it is heaven-sent.  Besides blogs, I see people volunteering to help the less fortunate; taking notice of the needs of the elderly; helping the unemployed to find jobs; and sacrificing their time and energy (not to mention many hours of prayer), to spiritually help someone who seems to be in the clutches of the Enemy.
     Is God's remnant in this country awakening to our responsibilities and fulfilling our purpose?  To some, that may seem as if I am depositing too "spiritual" of a connotation to what is happening.  But I am all to aware of the change I am seeing take place.  It is individual acts of kindness; it is a desire to share our humanness; and it is the desire to attend to the needs of others.  As my niece, Kaylee, so eloquently explained, ... at the end of the day, it’s "God love" we ultimately should strive for, and [we should] live to love him."  There's no better connection than that!

Galatians 6:9     "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."
     
   

1 comment:

  1. A different take on "connection": Early Sunday morning a thief broke in to a Lutheran Church in Spokane, Washington to steal, among other things, 5 stained glass windows. But they also stole the large 25 pound "pulpit" Bible. The pastor hopes that the thief will read it :-)

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