Actually relevant was just a pretty word for it....

In reality, what I should have been saying is that I need to be less selfish....I don't think I even realized at the time that was what I really meant. And I know why. Selfish is such an ugly word....there is nothing attractive about it, and by definition, it has no redeeming qualities....

self·ish (sel′fis̸h)

adjective

1. too much concerned with one's own welfare or interests and having little or no concern for others; self-centered
2. showing or prompted by self-interest

Now, I can't say that I am never unselfish, or that I don't ever think about others...that wouldn't be accurate. Truth is, I do...and actually, a lot. But for some reason I feel God showing me that it just isn't enough...that He has higher expectations of me than this.

As a whole, our society is an extremely self-absorbed one....and if you were to get me on my soap box, I would probably tell you that I think Burger King and their "Have it Your Way" campaign from the 80's really gave us a shove in the wrong direction...but I digress :)

This point was really driven home for me last Sunday during a message from our Teaching Pastor...I don't know if I can do it justice in a shortened form, but I shall try...because it really demonstrates where I am going with all of this...not that we are all horrible excuses for human beings, but that when we step outside of ourselves, wonderful and impactful things can happen....

He was rushing home from church on a Saturday evening, and was on a timeline as he and his wife had to get their son to a game of some sort. At some point in his journey, there was a car that (I believe) had run out of gas, and seemed to be having some difficulty. At first he was trying to figure out how he could get around this annoyance, but then he remembered his New Hope sticker on the back of the car. In addition to that, he felt God nudging him to do something different..so he stopped and helped the driver, who happened to be a woman alone. When they wrapped it all up, he again felt God pushing..so he asked if he could pray with her. Afterwards, she asked him if he went to church somewhere, and he said he did (not revealing he was a Pastor)...she then told him she could really use "some of that"...

Wow...all it took was him to step outside of his circumstances and notice those that another person was in. Think of the missed opportunity if he had just kept trying to hurry home...it seems as though the woman he helped really, really needed what he provided...and she needed it way more than he needed to get home.

How many times in our daily and weekly life do we have that opportunity? Is it when we are in the line at the grocery store, acting as though a two minute wait is such a burden, and making the cashier feel badly for being less speedy? Or is it when a friend calls and just needs an ear, and we rush them off the phone because we are too busy?

As I said before...relevant was a "pretty way" of saying it....

"In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus."
-Philippians 2.5

I want to be relevant....

Actually, what I want to be is asleep. But with the combination of too much ice tea today, my sweet Sandy Sue rustling around in her kennel trying to get her spot just right, and this blog percolating in my head...well, let's just say I'll settle for relevant....:)

rel·e·vant adj \ˈre-lə-vənt\

Definition of RELEVANT

1 a : having significant and demonstrable bearing on the matter at hand b : affording evidence tending to prove or disprove the matter at issue or under discussion <relevant testimony> c : having social relevance

I don't really know how I feel about attempting to be so well read and well versed that I can be the definition of "b"....but "a" and "c" somewhat interest me...

When the idea of wanting to "be relevant" began to niggle at my heart, what kept coming to mind was that I wanted to slow down long enough to be present in the lives of those around me...whether that be my daughter, my husband, my mother, or my friends...or my homeschooling peer group....or the kiddos that God gives me every other Sunday morning to share his Word with. By slowing down to be present, quite possibly I can become "relevant" in their lives...their issues and worries...their joys.

I have some sweet, dear friends that would tell me that I am already relevant to them...I know this because some of them heap undeserving praise on me for how much I am there for them, and how I have mattered in their journey. But would they still give me this praise if they knew just how much I was capable of, and then saw that they weren't getting nearly very much of it?

That brings me to "b".....having social relevance....the kicker here is that quite possibly, if I use my blog in way I have envisioned, a couple of things could happen...

I feel as though my blogging could help me grow in many ways....and some of those would help me in my quest to be relevant and present.....but to use my blog to become socially relevant enough to matter..to make a difference...to reach even just one person for Christ....to show even just one person that they matter....what if in doing all of this I run out of time to be relevant and present for those that matter?

I won't give up easily on this one...it may require a higher level of focus than I have used in quite a while...to add in all the "new stuff" while not failing at the "old stuff"...but that's okay..I'm up for it. As Annette Bening's character in "The President", Sydney Ellen Wade, says "I'm equal to the task, Sir".....

This time...seriously...I mean it....

I'm really going to BE a "blogger" now. If you scroll down, you will see the first three posts were sometime last year...yeah, that's quite a lag. Clearly, I just have loads of time on my hands...*laughs hysterically* How, may you ask, will I find the time? :) Well, I'm not really sure...but I can tell you that it seems very important to me now that I begin to document our homeschooling journey (you know, the one that we've been on successfully for almost two years..yeah, that one)......plus, I think I have other things to say. The other day I began a social media campaign for our business (Twitter, Linkedin, WordPress, etc.), and I told a few people that I didn't think I would "tweet" personally..maybe because I didn't think anyone was that interested in what I have to say. But since then (in some sort of delirious state) I have decided that MAYBE I am more interesting than that...that maybe I wanted to be more interesting than that, and talk about things that are relevant to my family, to our homeschooling, to my faith.....

So...if you desire..stay tuned...it just might get a little interesting!!