Transparency

I am a pretty routine oriented person. I do the same things every day in typically the same fashion. Although I love people, I also tend to be a pretty introverted person. Every day that I sit down to my computer and read the same things. I can’t believe that I’m admitting this for all the world to read, but here goes… I log in to my two personal email accounts, the same for my work email, see if anything is new on Facebook and then if I have time click on about fifteen blogs which are saved on my “Favorites”. Yes, FIFTEEN. (I’m not sure how I have time to do all of this with a five and a half month old and managing a residence hall full of freshman girls.) These blogs are all of people I know are have known in the past. Most of these people have children and because of that I feel some sense of connection. I’m beginning to wonder if all of these people even know that I read their blogs. I’m not even sure who reads mine…

The reason I tell you all of this is because I read something earlier this evening that really made me think. I had recently requested for an old college friend to become my Facebook friend because I had seen his picture on someone else’s Facebook. To be honest I requested him because I saw in the picture that he was holding a little baby girl and I wanted to see if he had become a daddy. Well tonight he confirmed my friend request, so I began to look at his page. I thought to myself, I wonder if I will say hi and write on his wall or will I just look at his pictures and move on…This is where I get to the part about what I read that made me think. He had written a quote on his page which said “Ths is really cool. I'm shocked at how many people are here (on Facebook), and how easy it is to reconnect. Now let's figure out how to go deeper...”

When I read this I realized how right he was. I mean, I read fifteen blogs a day and very rarely tell those people that I care about them. I get on Facebook and look at people’s pictures but don’t call them up and say hey let’s go hang out, or how are you? My husband would tell you that I am a very empathetic person. I really do love people deeply. But I’m tired of simply caring about them from a far. I need to stop just reading about people’s lives and looking at their pictures. If I truly love people I need to show them. I need to write the encouraging notes that I want or make the phone calls I know that I should because people have been on my heart.

A lot of why I’ve shared all of this is because in the past few days I’ve been thinking a lot about a family whose blog I posted a link to on Tuesday. This family, Julie and Noah lost their baby girl Tuesday. Julie and I were both English teachers for International students at MC. I didn’t know her very well while we worked together but I ran into her at the doctor’s office while we were both pregnant. We discovered that we had the same doctor and were due around the same time. About half way through Julie’s pregnancy, she found out that her daughter had a condition called Trisomy 18. When I was searching for Isabella’s future pediatrican, Julie shared this news with me when I asked her what pediatrician she would be using. I soon found Julie and Noah’s blog which chronicles the story of their daughter’s life journey.

As I read about all the emotions Julie and Noah were facing knowing the diagnosis of their child, I wept. I barely knew Julie but my heart broke for her and her husband. I was not crying because I felt sorry for them or anything like that. I wept because I could not imagine being faced with that same diagnosis for our little girl. From that day on I checked Julie’s blog often to read about how things were going. I rejoiced with her family as I read the days that her daughter was surviving in her womb. I cried as the Lord taught me many things about not taking His provision and His blessing for granted.

This family became very dear to my heart but I never took the time to encourage them. I even ran into Julie at the library and the doctor’s office and never told her that I was praying for her. I would tell my friends and family to pray for her and not email her to encourage her. I know that the Lord heard my prayers regardless of whether or not Julie knew I was praying for her but regret not contacting her.

Today I know that hundreds if not thousands of lives have been touched through reading the words on Julie’s blog. The Lord has glorified Himself greatly through the life of their young daughter. I grew to love this beautiful child although I did not know her.

I pray that the Lord would give me the courage to be bold in loving others. That I would not just read blogs and then not take the time to encourage those who I have come to care about. I pray that I would not just think about people and then not take the time to be a part of their lives.

Julie and Noah If you read this, thank you for sharing your heart and your life with the world through your blog. I pray that we can all follow your example and be real with others about what the Lord is doing in our lives. May He be glorified in us through our joys AND our trials.