My sister in ministry, Amia, tagged me in a photo she posted on Instagram. It was a repost of a post that a friend of Whitney English sent her (gotta love social media). Whitney’s take on the picture was included in the repost. I tried reposting the original image along with my thoughts, but the upload kept failing.
I wanted to curse IG for not letting me post but knew it was God telling me to get over my fear of blogging and just share my thoughts here. For some reason I think that people expect less from the writing that accompanies pictures on Instagram than they do from a blog post. Just whispers from the enemy. I don’t remember what I wrote verbatim, but it was something like this…
I want to leave a legacy of a life based on the characteristics of someone having significance. God calls us to live in community. With him and each other. Real community can only be built when people care more about significance than importance. But community building is hard. It requires humility, vulnerability, and honesty.
Being humble involves admitting I don’t have all the answers, when I feel that I should have it all together at this point in my life. {How frustrating is it that it is is always changing?} Being vulnerable means I have to let my guard down, admitting how badly I want to be loved for who I am. As difficult as those two are, I think that being honest is the hardest of them all. Because when I lay it all on the line I may not be enough.
Here’s the thing. While I desperately want to find and grow my tribe – you know, those women who just get you and are on a similar path as you are – I’m afraid of rubbing up against the people who are more concerned with their importance than significance. That fear tempts me to bypass humility, vulnerability, and honesty – specifically when it comes to social media. Some days I’d like nothing more than to post photos that make it seem like I’ve arrived.
Because nothing will make me feel like I’m back in high school faster than when I follow God’s lead and I feel like I’m the only one. When I start to take the opinions of others too personally, God reminds me that He has set me apart, not aside. {I totally thought of that scene in Dirty Dancing “No one puts baby in the corner” as I typed that. You too? Awesome.}
He reminds me to stop gauging my significance by my importance. It’s super tempting to weigh my impact by follows, likes, and comments. It can be so disappointing (if I let it) when I follow God’s prompting and pour my heart out only to hear crickets. But my obedience in following His prompting is a reward in itself. I need to remember that.
God put me in check recently about the whole fixation with follows, likes, and comments. I was washing dishes and thinking about my Instagram account. Very softly, free of condemnation, the Holy Spirit whispered “You don’t have followers. I have followers.” Ouch. And when I thought I couldn’t feel any more convicted He said, “And why do you think you need thousands anyway? I had tweleve.” Double ouch.
Faith Fitness and Mommy Stuff 