Good morning…
As the passage of time naturally expands, we end one month before the next begins. Today is May. Tomorrow will be June. Like being caught in the invisible power of gravity, we can’t escape the ticking away of time. Spring naturally tips into summer, that’s just life’s way. We can’t go back. We can’t stay here. We simply live from now into next. From now into next, we live our way forward. Amid all of this forward movement, one gift we are given as human beings is the ability to pause and reflect.
In these wee hours, I pause and reflect on the gift of our everyday blog. Looking back, from January to now, I notice that most days over 1,000 people read our blog posts, and yet only two people have given a “Gratitude Gift” to financially support our written word ministry this spring. I take some time now to ponder why.
I wonder if most people falsely assume that the two to three hours I spend writing each night is paid for by my daytime job as Women’s Ministry Director at Northside Church. I wonder if some people figure I am sorting my self out as I write with God and that my own peaceful healing is reward enough. I wonder if people don’t know that it costs to send these Mailchimp emails each day, to pay our web designer to maintain our website each month, and to invest in trainings and monthly supervision which improve my skills as a writer and a spiritual director (for example the Soul Collage training I will attend in July will be paid half by the church and half by me). With dependable repetition, I wonder if people just look past the “Donate” button below each message and miss the “Gratitude Gift” tab on our SueToYou website. I also wonder if interest in our blog is waning and whether someday the financial backing will completely dry up, making our everyday blog unsustainable. It is good for me to take time to pause, to reflect, to wonder, as spring gently fades to summer.
Might it be your turn to pause, to reflect, to wonder? How do these morning messages enhance my life? Do I feel drawn to contribute to the continuation of our written word community? If so, how much do I feel led to donate as I give my “Gratitude Gift” for this semester?
Our lives are intertwined through the gift of our daily blog, for that I am eternally grateful. To You, Lord, I give my whole heart, a heart filled with praise, for I am grateful (Psalm 138:1a, VOICE).
…Sue…
P.S. Thanks to Corinne Adams for these captivating photos taken during her recent travels through Africa.
