The Power of Conversation
Texting can be great, until it's not. It was never meant for full, serious conversations, but wow, it's definitely being used that way when face-to-face isn't comfortable or convenient. It's easy to get sucked into it. So have you ever gotten it wrong? The tone you were trying to get across? The joke you were trying to make? Or have you ever been angry or worried about a relationship after you read a text from someone about another person who is important to you? We can create a whole new story in our heads about that other person which may or may not be accurate. The information was second-hand and the source may not be entirely reliable, even if they had good intentions. Bottom line, it takes a real, in-person conversation with that third person to either debunk the myths or work it out between you.
Isn't that what we do sometimes with God? What we "know" can be second-hand--from the faith we inherited but haven't fully explored, experienced and chosen for ourselves, or from the attitudes and anger handed to us by people without any real faith or relationship with God at all. You can't really understand someone you never spend time with. So anger is easy. Often one person blows up and suddenly the conversation is over, or one angry person just shuts down--refuses to talk--and there's no conversation at all. Simple. Anger can pretty much equal avoidance, hiding what the person is really feeling--and really needing to discuss. They make it about something else. This also prevents a full hearing of what the other person is feeling and needs to discuss. Yep. It's conversation that's hard. It's listening that's hard. It's waiting our turn that's hard. It's expressing ourselves genuinely and respectfully that's hard. So do we ever shut God down? Do we avoid the hard conversations, not letting God say what needs to be heard? Do we avoid being honest about our own feelings? Maybe it's time to check in with God. Make it about just you and God. Not about religion. Not about what someone else feels or thinks or wants. What do you need to talk about? What answers are you looking for? Is the conversation long overdue?