Reminder

I was looking at the comments on the new blog started by my uncle. One of the comments was mine, one was from one of his sons, and one was from a granddaughter. I know the son, somewhat. We’ve not had interaction in quite some time…many years, in fact, but I think about him and his brothers and sisters more often than one might think.
I don’t know the granddaughter at all. But I followed the link and found her blog. She doesn’t blog often, but has been consistent for the past couple of years with entries every so often. She has evidently had a busy life this past couple of years, having been in Europe and South America as well as in school, and doing all the other things a young adult would be doing.
Even though I don’t know her, I feel a kind of connection with her. Even if she may not feel the same kind of connection toward me, that’s OK. I have always had an interest in family, and like to catch up or keep up with what’s happening. Blogs are a great way to do that. I wish I had more blog addresses for more of my family.
When someone writes in a blog, and does so as I think blogs were meant to be written in, he or she opens up a part of themselves and lays it out for others to see. That can be unsettling to some, dangerous to others, and just uninviting to many more. However, it can also be cathartic, freeing, revealing, and something that prompts the writer to think, reason, question, and appreciate and enjoy life more.
And those who read it may find, if they choose to see, a window to a soul not their own. That window has within it the power to reveal truth, counsel acceptance, beg questions, create longing for meaning, develop empathy and compassion, and instill a wonder and marvel in the complexity and beauty of life.
I don’t know Joanna. But I’ve already begun to see some of these things in the window she opens in her blog. And maybe that’s where the idea of “connection” comes through…a kind of meeting of the minds through the miracle of the written word. (I’m reminded of John chapter 1…are you?)