Keep Going. One Post At A Time

 

For almost fifteen years now, I’ve been writing and posting Facebook notes every Monday and Thursday. 

I’ve written through joys and sorrows,

Big plans and shattered dreams, 

Full-time ministry and teaching, and 

Abundance of words and scarcity of thought. 

 

It’s taken time. 

It’s taken effort. 

It’s taken discipline not to quit. 

But to be honest, 

As I’m gearing up to greet students next Wednesday and to start a doctoral program on the 18th, 

Quitting has been on my mind quite a bit. 

 

I’m going to be teaching full-time and taking classes every Monday and Tuesday night, 

Balancing homework, church, and home life in between. 

When will I have time to write? 

When will I have time to do anything?!

And what is there to say that I haven’t already said? 

Sometimes, I sound like a broken record. 

 

But then I think of common humanity. 

I think of how much people are struggling. 

I think of how deeply people are hurting. 

I think of the need to see God in the midst of darkness. 

I think of the need to find joy, hope, and goodness in a very broken world. 

And I think:

I can do that. 

 

No. It won’t be easy. 

And there will be days when I am just sad, bummed, overwhelmed, or angry. 

But that’s part of common humanity too—

Knowing we’re not alone—

And that’s worth the will to keep trying. 

 

Yesterday, my blackout poem said 

“The black hole tells you lies.”

The black hole of the unknown has been 

Telling me to quit. 

 

The black hole lies. 

 

This discipline will continue for now. 

 

One word, 

One shared experience, 

One post at a time. 

 

Amen.