Day 2 of 40 Days of Story: What kind of world do you live in?
Today we explore the world of your desire[1]. The context to your story. The Where your quest begins, the place you live in as you want what you want.
It could be the crazy world of office cubicles, or the bizarro land of online dating, or perhaps your story begins in your monkey mind or broken heart.
Wherever it is, today you’re invited to be curious about that world. To pause. To see it anew.
Close your eyes and think: Opening scene.
If you were to invite others into this world of your desire–the context of your story–what would they see, feel, hear and smell (or not smell)?
Is this world hospitable to your desire or more combative? Here’s a harsh reality: there’s always something in your world stopping you from getting what you want. That’s the way stories work.
But today is about simply observing your world. Look for the opportunities and challenges the world of your desire holds…and its absurdities.
As I said, my desire in this season is to know and be known, love and be loved in deeper ways. So…one of the worlds of my desire resides in the cosmos of online dating apps. Swiping left on yet another profile picture of a man taking a selfie in a bathroom. Seriously, people. How did this become a thing? And yet, in my quest for authentic intimacy I must ever so briefly look at random strangers’ bathrooms. Absurd. And…in this Wild West of swiping I’ve also gone on some really fun dates, where I’ve met incredible men.
That’s the kind of world my desire lives in at the moment. What about yours?
So, here’s your exercise: Set your timer for 5 minutes and write or think about the kind of world you live in when it comes to your desire. You can go all concrete, and describe your office or your teen’s slightly smelly bedroom. But I’d also encourage you to think about the absurd and beautiful aspects of your world of desire. Write about it. Think about it. And if you’re game, tell me about it.
I can’t wait to hear. And if you’ve got your own funny on or off-line dating stories…please share that too!
[1] Day One we considered something we desired in this season. Out of the 100 stories you live in, what’s the one you most want to wake up to? What do you want you don’t have? What’s something that needs to be transformed?
Interesting. My world is black and white, like dorothy before oz, but there are moments and glimpses of technicolor. I want to spend some time thinking of what lights up the screen in my story. And are those moments are internally or externally drawn? Who turns on the colors?
Christy…what powerful questions! I love what you’re asking and how soulfully you’re asking it. Thanks so much for sharing…I’d love to hear what emerges!
My world instantly expanded and shrank at the same time. As I walked away from the pastorate and embraced my new role as a missionary coach, it would come with huge sacrifice and huge rewards.
I suddenly find myself with much to say and preach about, but no podium to stand behind. What do I do with this gospel that is crying to get out?
I remind myself of how God has expanded my world in an instant. I am helping missionaries from all over the world. Hearing cultural stories, growing and expanding like never before. My world is bigger and broader than ever.
However, there is still this voice that longs to speak. The ideas that flood my mind seem to now frustrate me instead of inspire me. The boys club of preaching and ministering is now prevalent again in my new world. I thought we were past this. I feel like I already lived this before and was on the other side… yet here I stand face to face with it again.
Can God be promoting me and stifling me at the same time? Is it a matter of surrender? Is it a timing issue? Is it time to just listen?
I LOVE my new world. It has opened doors and broadened my worldview, while at the same time making it smaller.
Thank you so much for sharing…so many layers to this world you are living in…ones of exhilaration…and others of loss, stirrings and annihilation. So many layers. Anita, I LOVE your courage to show up, be curious and in conversation with God. Inspiring!
My desire for a hospitable heart comes during the crossroads of my youngest children finishing high school soon, and my oldest children are grown and flown with kids of their own. Technically, I’m a half-nester and will be such for the next 4 years since I’m in no hurry to push my remaining birdies out of the nest completely, only one day at a time as they strengthen their spiritual wings. My world for the past thirty years has been consumed by caring for and tending to the needs of my immediate family, closest friends and business associates, all of whom I can boldly share my deepest thoughts while in turn listen to theirs. But my boldness has boundaries. I am not as open to strangers, except when behind a computer screen. My heart is not quite so hospitable in the unknown places and faces of the world, which prompts me to ask, why? This heart of mine, it loves Jesus, and it should love His world, right? It should desire to make space to delve deeply anywhere and with anyone…
Lora, what a fascinating time of transition you’re in. I imagine hospitality and welcome are all the more vital for mothering in those teenage years. I love that you’re attuned to that. And yes, this is such a vital time in our country’s history to be more open to welcome and love the stranger. That’s wonderful that you’re asking those questions…it’s obvious that Love is alive in you!