Facebook

I must admit, I don't have the time to really keep up or report on Facebook but I do love the pictures and triumphs of those I follow. I have noticed something of a trend. Bored and tired. I am not a fan of either. They are not fun. Of all the things, noble and mundane, these bored and tired are reported at a higher frequency than the others. "Bored" are usually (but not always) are under 30 and unmarried. "Tired" (I bunch "sleepy" in with these as well) are usually from 40 to 50 and have demanding jobs and/or demanding shuttle schedules for families. I have friends who have nothing to do and friends who have too much to do. I wish they could meet each other. I think they would be a great match.

I wonder what God - who created the sun, stars, mountains, streams, daydreaming, sex, lattes, sea otters and hangovers - thinks about "I'm bored." Boredom sets in when everything is predictable and the "present" looks like it will never end. Boredom wants novelty. And novelty sells. Our world that cannot invent novelty fast enough because there is an insatiable appetite for novelty.

I wonder what God thinks because there is so much unexplored territory inside us. Territory he made, thought was pretty darn good, and died for. The last frontier is not space or the ocean or quantum mechanics. The last frontier, the place of endless novelty, is our soul. To explore that takes courage, patience and dedicated time.

Last week, while at Half Price Books, I saw a mom with an adult child in a wheel chair. The child could not navigate much without mom's help. She obviously loved this child who, I assume required most of her life's energy and focus. She conversed with him, tended to him and checked out the cook books. She is my hero. I am impatient and don't like it when I have been inconvenienced just a little. I get bored and act (childishly, I admit) like this has and will go on forever.) She was not bored (I am sure she gets tired.) While I didn't stop and ask her, I bet she had plumbed the depths of her soul many times (possibly at night when everyone was asleep, in tears.) The reward of her exploration was love. Love for herself and the love of selflessness. Love is never boring.

May you, who are loved beyond your imagination, take the time to see what God thinks is so special about you. And may you live it.