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Spiritual blogging is the most joyous and interesting thing I have ever done.
I embark on it with a sense of caution and diffidence though. For one, is it making something public which should be private?
Jesus stresses secrecy in spiritual practices—praying, giving and fasting—because if people are impressed, well, you’ve had your reward, and a pretty paltry reward it is compared to the mysterious, unknown and numinous rewards that the Lord himself might be planning to give you.
The wonderful Norwegian writer, O. Hallesby, said that one’s secret life with Christ in the secret places of prayer is like a cosy, warm Norwegian cottage in a blustery winter. If you talk about your prayer life, you open the door, and cold wintry blasts enter.
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Ah, why do it then? Because it is my calling.
I have been helped by people’s spiritual autobiographies and journals–Hudson Taylor, George Mueller, Frank Laubach and Catherine Marshall come to mind—and their chronicles of their successes and failures, their highs and lows. Wow, so spiritual giants wobbled as I do? And are these heights of the spiritual life open to me? It spurs me on.
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And the worst thing about Christian blogging is when your life reproaches you. When you sit down to write your blog, and you realize you are angry with your spouse or children or a friend. That you feel spiritual empty and bereft and lifeless. What then are you to write?
I have committed to write every day I can, and I think the discipline and writing skills I’ve gained this way have been invaluable. When I have been feeling grumpy or spiritually limp, I’ve used archive posts, which I believed and felt when I wrote them, and still believe. However, I now think I will write a secular post, on a subject of general interest, and wait for the well to refill.
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Spiritual blogging has helped my spiritual life, because when I feel distracted and discombobulated, it reminds me to enter by the narrow gate. And the narrow gate for me is surrender. Both “please make your will clear to me so I can do it,” and “Here’s my life; please work in it.”
It keeps me honest. I live with three other people, and have a group of close women friends whom I meet with regularly. I want the online persona and the real person to match. To be in real life and at home exactly as I am in my blog. I am working on getting more of the lows and dramas of my life in the blog (if I have discovered a way of dealing with them which may be helpful!).
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When my spiritual life is limp and flaccid; when I am not truly pushing forward, learning and getting excited about new things about God, Scripture and the spiritual life; not following Jesus in new and challenging little ways; getting a bit stagnant–then writing my blog is almost a reproach to me.
When I pray well, new ideas for blog posts spring up; when I don’t I am a spider, not a bee.
However, when my spiritual life is exciting, writing my blog is exciting too—and it touches people.
In fact, in spiritual blogging, the only way to get your blog interesting is to have spiritual adventures, to be continually filled with the spirit, and ask God for fresh ideas, and check out your ideas with Him. Otherwise, the writing can get a bit vapid and empty, a bit repetitive, yesterday’s melodies in yesterday’s words.
Thanks, Claire and Sandra. I have been thinking about this too.
There is a writing maxim which has been true for me: the impulse to conceal should be an impetus to reveal.
It's a sign that a truly good, electrifying and honest story is waiting there in the wings.
For me, when I hide too much–for instance, if I am rowing with my husband, or mad at my kids, but instead write about prayer, my blog goes dead and boring for me.
So I have begun to mention these, and what I have learned through the fight, or through the low spirits or sense of failure.
The lows are necessary to any good story, I've realized.
Really enjoyed reading this as I have pondered too the wisdom of sharing personal things online. And the difficulty of really withdrawing mentally into prayer, without always thinking how this experience would come across in the blog…thanks very much. And keep up the good work!
sorry, should have proof-read more carefully, – that should have read 'it's NOT for me to share other people's secrets'
Sandra
I can so relate to this, Anita. I've recently been blogging my journey through Cindy Trimm's '40 Day Soul Fast'. It's sometimes been difficult to decide what to share online. I've had some wonderful affirmations, as well as gentle revealing of my weaknesses.
Also, details of some of my struggles I am not prepared to share online as they involve other people's stories, and it is for me to share other people's secrets.
Very thought-provoking post.