Inside Out

 


Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding. Acknowledge him in all your ways, and he will make your paths straight.  Proverbs 3: 5-6

So, the Disney movie, Inside Out 2, came out this weekend. I admit I haven’t seen it, so I am not recommending it here. But as I read these verses, it came to me that I need to let my inside out more. As an introvert, so much of my world is inside – both literally and figuratively. I spend much of my days inside, and most of my interactions take place in my mind. I’m likely to have a conversation a dozen times in my head before it ever happens out loud. My prayer life is primarily a silent one, only brought out for the occasional mealtime or when called on at home group or a family event.

It makes sense, then, that I don’t talk about God a lot. Really, I don’t talk a lot. People who spend time with me might beg to differ, because once you get me going, I do tend to ramble, but that really doesn’t happen all that often in the grand scheme of things. When I do talk, I try to choose my words carefully. It’s not uncommon for me to pray over them before and after I speak. So, I really don’t know how it is that I still manage to put my foot in my mouth as much as I do!

With a heart of guiding my children, and others, I need to find a way of making some of those internal processes more external though. As of yet, we do not have the technology (thank God!) to see what’s happening in someone’s head, so if I want to share my faith walk with others it needs to be lived outside my head as well. I need to tell people I’m praying for them and, when allowed, pray with them. I think some of it comes down to being ready with an answer for my hope as well. When people ask why I’m happy or unafraid in the face of some struggle I can share about my hope in Christ. Other than that, I’m just prayerfully trying to be open to opportunities to share on the outside some of the faith conversation that’s happening on the inside.

Here's the Thing: This doesn’t seem to happen by accident. I think I have to be intentional.

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