All yours

Personal Photo: This photo was taken on a flight to a family vacation. I loved the lighting in this and snapped the photo. However, something else I have come to love is the perspective of it. When we look at things differently, as a child of God, we have the ability to see something beautiful, to notice things that others overlook, and to find a relationship with God that is so entirely ours.

I grew up in the era of technology. However, I was blessed to have a childhood mostly free from it. Smartphones came out when I was almost a teenager, I spent my summers outside in the pool, I rode my bike, drew with sidewalk chalk, picked green beans and tomatoes, and the winters were spent making snow slides down the deck steps, letting hot chocolate warm up our numb fingers, and praying for days off of school. I remember the first time I watched kids who were dancing, but they were doing viral Tiktok dances, going to the store and seeing babies with IPads stuck in front of their faces, and so on. I could go many different directions with the observations of how technology has taken over our worlds, but the one that fascinates me the most is about sharing.

We are living in a world where we are expected to share everything. We are so desensitized to the concept of sharing information, sharing opinions, sharing experiences, seeking the validation of others through this sharing. Technology has taught us that the more we share and the more people we share with, the more famous we can be, the funnier we are, the more money we can make, the more successful we are, and the more accepted we can be. I find this concept so empty when we analyze statistics of depression, the negative impacts of media consumption, and more. Through this overabundance of sharing, we have really begun to wipe out the ownership of individuality, the innocence of spontaneity, and the respect of privacy. Regardless, the concept of sharing space, sharing information, sharing opinions, and altogether abandoning the ownership of almost everything is the norm of our world today.

When I was driving back into work from my lunch break today, I considered the impact I personally experienced from so much sharing; I felt as though the noise of work was just too much. The projects that I have begun to really work on are slow going, they need the input of many groups of people, and I was ridiculed for changing something, even though I had approval to do it. I was tired of the opinions, frustrated with the voices that I had to respond to, and sick of biting my tongue when I felt as though I was being disrespected. I was tired of all the sharing. I took a deep breath, turned off the music in my car, and I talked to God. And while I was talking to Him, a thought came to the forefront of my mind: My relationship with God is the only thing in life that is really truly mine.

The thought was one that I let linger, and take root, and it brought me such peace. I have never been someone who feels the need to share anything and everything, and I have always enjoyed my rather quiet life. Even with this being true, I felt as though I had something precious that was my very own. I was so empowered after feeling rather bruised and battered from meetings that were unproductive, cold words that left me feeling discouraged, and more. The reality of it swept away any nerves or anxiousness I had about how I was going to handle it all at work, figure out the next steps of each project I was working on, and proceed with a positive attitude. The realization about the gift of my relationship with God brought me a sense of empowerment that I could apply to every area of my life: when I am overwhelmed with the tasks I need to do at home, when I stress over my to do list, when I need guidance or peace, and so much more.

I mentioned above that the oversharing we find at every turn is really starting to suffocate the freedom of individuality. What I mean by this is that if we share something, whether it is information, food, an action, or an opinion, we are usually dismissed when it is not publicly accepted already. Judgement comes quick to those who do not fit into the social norm, those who are just a little outside of the status quo and beyond. I think it is important to address that having a relationship with God automatically puts us outside of that social norm, it already makes us different to the majority. And rather than that being a source of intimidation, it can serve as a source of empowerment. 1 John 3:1 tells us "See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know Him." The demanding world we live in does not command us, and that is really what this verse from John is addressing. We are so blessed to be children of the Lord, to have His love with us and guiding us wherever we go, that the unfamiliarity between the people we meet that are part of the world and ourselves is simply part of the journey. It is not something that should create distance between us and God, but rather the other way; that it helps us to seek comfort with Him, as He knows what it is like to feel like a stranger in this world. And it is something that encourages our intimacy with the Lord to be something personal, something unique to us.

The best part of our relationship with God is that it is something we do not need to share. When I say this, I do not mean that we should not share our love for Him, the joy He brings to us, and the other results of having an intimate relationship with Him, but rather that the relationship itself, the way that we have conversations with the Lord, the influence He has over every thought and action, are all things that we do not need to share, split, or divide with others. Our relationship with God is ours and ours alone. Revelation 3:20 states 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me." This verse is so powerful when we consider our intimacy with Christ and how personal it is. God does not say that if we open the door to Him, that we can invite all of our friends to the meal we have with the Lord. Rather He addresses that it is just us and Him. When we each accept the Lord, when we open the door to His knocking, we therefore find the precious gift of peace and of salvation all within the Lord's loving arms. And it is our own personal peace, our own soul's salvation. And no one, no one, can take it from us, can ruin it, can throw it away. It is entirely ours.

Not only is our friendship, our relationship with God ours, but it is something that lasts forever. As foreign of a concept as this is, it is true. It will never wither away and die, it will never disappear into thin air, it will never fade over time, and it will never get lost on our journey. It is new every single day. John 10:28-30 is where Jesus states "I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one." This verse solidifies that our relationship with God is outside of the natural bounds of death, nature, and time. Rather, we can be steadfast in this statement from Christ that we are His and His alone, and nothing we encounter in this world can change that statement. When we seek Him, He is there. When we build a relationship with Him, the foundation is solid. When we have intimacy with God, we have courage to face the world each day.

I think that having a relationship with God that is uniquely ours is something most of us are aware of, however, I was guilty of dismissing the empowerment that comes with focusing on it. When we are bombarded with opinions, expectations, advice, and more, we can quickly and easily feel as though we are not worth much, that we are just another face in the crowd. However, when we remember that our relationship with God is something that we own, that we have control over, that we manage, it can help us keep in the forefront of our minds how critical it is that we give that relationship respect and time to grow. No one can tell us how to manage our love for God, no one can give us advice on what a good relationship with Him looks like, no one can take it away from us, and it lasts forever. It is something that God seeks with each and every one of His children, and when we respect it, when we honor it, we can find a strength and joy rooted so deep in our hearts that no one has the power to destroy it.

1 John 5:20 reads "And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life." In this way, we can see how important it is that we honor our relationship with God. We are blessed to know Him, to be able to open the door for Him to enter our lives, and to have the chance for intimacy with Him. When we cling to the Lord, when we cling to our personal relationship with Him, and we prioritize it, we have the unique chance to change the world without being part of it. We do not have to share or split our relationship with God in order to bring people to develop their own relationship with Him. God's gift of intimacy with Him is empowering, it is inspiring, and it is all ours.