What just happened? It has been 3 months since I last blogged. I know what you are thinking...|I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed.| I am disappointed, too. I guess, in my mind, that is what happens when you try to start a blog in the few months before the school year ends. Somehow, 120 6th graders begin to take the forefront of my mind instead of the new "project" I swore I would be committed to. To be fair, I did realize the whole time I wasn't blogging that I did want to be blogging - I even made a handy note in my phone that I would add to every time a riveting, thought-provoking, brilliant blogging idea came to mind. As my keyboard remained un-touched and my blog went silent I thought a whole lot about what I would write - if I just had the time, if the papers would just grade themselves, if life would just... stop. I was thinking a whole lot about writing I just wasn't actually doing it. You know what they say: it's the thought that counts, right?
We have all heard this mantra a million times - from the mouths of confused friends, desperate boyfriends, and parents trying to find the right piece of advice to give. We have all said this mantra a million times to make ourselves feel better when a gift goes wrong, plans fall through, or maybe that advice you were seeking went flat.
But what if it isn't the thought that counts?
This mantra seems like the easy way out, the cheap and fast road to lukewarm relationships, and an excuse delivered to soften a disappointment.
Think about the following scenario: You have gone to the seamstress to pick up your wedding dress a few days after your final fitting. The "Big Day" is right around the corner; you slip into the gown that makes you feel like nothing ever has before... but you notice something... the hem is still way too long, the seams still sag and hang around your waist making you look like a little girl playing dressup in her mother's wedding gown. As you take in the mess that is your dress the seamstress pats you on the shoulder and says 'well, I thought about tailoring your dress'. I don't know about you but, nothing would send me into a tailspin of Bridezilla meets some sick version of "Say Yes to The Dress" faster than that scenario!
And we all know, we have had that string of junky relationships full of desperate pleads of "it's the thought that counts, right babe?". |No, actually, just thinking about my birthday doesn't count. No, just thinking about bringing flowers doesn't bring me joy.| Are you catching my drift here?
I'm saying it's the actions that count. We are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Jesus didn't get by on "thoughts" alone. He was a man of action. Could you imagine how different the story would be if He simply thought about dying on the cross for our sins? I don't know about you, but I don't like how that story ends.
So the challenge I am accepting, and the challenge I offer to you if you find yourself reading this, is to start putting those thoughts we have into action. I can't tell you how many times I have thought about sending a text to a friend from the past, a card to a hurting family member, or reaching across the row at church to introduce myself. I stop myself every time though - my fears of feeling awkward or rejected flare-up, the lies of 'oh, I'm sure they are doing fine' saturate my thought-pattern. Imagine the difference, even in your small corner of the world, that could make. And really, what is the world other than a bunch of small corners that all intersect?
Because what I have learned during my time away from blogging is: simply thinking about something doesn't actually get anything done.
Now, I am not saying not to think about others. That would just be ridiculous. What I am saying is serve others with an open heart and open hands even despite the fact that life isn't going to... stop.- these are things that are sparked largely by thinking of others. Small things, big things, things that you know will make others smile: notes, confetti, tulips, and hugs. I think we all will be amazed at how our lukewarm relationships flourish and how much more joy we will find around us; joy we can then watch spread beyond our own little corner.
I hope you go on this journey with me and I hope you now see that a card not sent is just a waste of paper, an invitation not extended is a night spent alone, and a blog just thought about is a waste of creativity. So act, do, and go and let me know in the comments below how you see your own little corner of the world changing!
|Who do you know that needs to be reached out to?| |What scares you, or stops you, from doing so?| |Do you forgive me for just "thinking" about my blog? :)... I sure hope so!|
Hugs and "-ish"
Jessica Van Dyke
photo credit: http://cardenaslosky.deviantart.com/art/SILENCE-353928908
Labels: Faith, Family, Friendship, Reflections