Missing This Blog (from Rebekah Theilen)

To second what Anna wrote earlier this summer, I, too, often find myself thinking of topics I could use for potential articles. I miss the days when this blog was more active, and we, as the readers, were able to hear from fellow Lutheran women on the themes that come up in our daily lives and vocations.  

It seems words have in no way stopped, but moved.  With a steady stream of words in the visible spaces such as Instagram and Twitter, blogs are now a quieter, less popular medium.  Public blogs require more maintenance and upkeep, including the more tedious work of formatting and editing. If you’re going to have a blog, you also need to have articles, which means there’s a need for writers to write them.

I don’t want to live a divided life. I’m a firm believer in investing first and foremost in our real-life people.  The internet, so often, doesn’t seem like the “real” world.  We have physical neighbors with physical needs, and I’m committed to being “present” in my flesh and blood universe.  Yet if the internet has made any one thing very clear to me, it’s that we, as human beings, along with bodies, have souls. 

I only have one soul, and God has told me in his word that I’m to love him with all of it. The soul is not something we put on like an outfit. I don’t have a separate soul for the reader me, the writer me, the mom me, or wife me. What you see is what you get, and what you don’t see, I’m often compelled to try to put into words. Words serve to enlighten us, for words have a way of making hidden worlds visible. 

Though blogging appears to be a phase that has passed, and the efforts involved can feel like more trouble than they’re worth, I’d also like to see words begin to move back here.  I believe this blog was a worthwhile endeavor, and served as a way to love God and our neighbors.  Blogging provides a way to connect and converse with others, and regular conversations sharpen minds and uplift our spirits.

What I liked about this blog is that I didn’t have to Google search. I knew where to find it, read the blog regularly, and every new week looked forward to the posts.  The articles were thoughtful, respectful, and clear. While I didn’t always agree or feel a connection with every single article or writer, I valued the consistent fellowship within a sisterhood of both like-minded and different-minded Lutheran women. 

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Rebekah spends her days living life alongside her husband and children. She enjoys reading, homeschooling, and every once in a great while, chasing after the wind.