craving accountability.
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Accountability is an interesting thing.
When you go long enough without a specific force of accountability in something, you become lazy and uncertain. At least I do. And if you are familiar with accountability, then after a length of time without it... you begin to crave it once again.
This is exactly where I have been for the past few months... craving an opportunity to be surrounded by people who are not so much like-minded as myself, but rather like-passion-ed. (Yes, I am making this word up.)
What I mean is: rather than being around people who are like-minded, I want to have a group of people near me that think differently than I do... on purpose. Thinking differently requires conversations that will push and stretch my limitations of "comfort" and "ease" in this world, both intellectually and emotionally. Yet at the same time, I don't wish at all that there is such a difference in thinking that we are never on the same page. This is why I want to be around people who are "like-passion-ed" ... discussing the intellect and the emotions with people who have a similar heartbeat... who want to see Christ glorified through all conversations and daily life, but want to be living a genuine lifestyle, filled with compassion and grace.
I believe this is not as uncommon as one would think, and yet is sometimes so hard to find. I want to talk about passions and goals... not just about new shoes or celebrity news. The blessing, though, is that each generation is filled with its characteristic of strength in genuineness in some of these areas: truth, compassion, grace, honesty. My ultimate craving right now is to be immersed in a small group that holds multiple generations of "like-passion-ed" people.
The Lord had something else in mind for my immediate needs, though. While I am still keeping my eyes, ears, and heart open for a church-structured small group of multiple generations, the Lord has opened doors for another type of small group, which will more than fill my craving for accountability... for this, I am grateful and overjoyed. Thanks to the careful listening of God's heartbeat, a dear friend has opened her home and invited several women to meet on a regular basis to dive together into God's Word. I have been craving a reason to be held accountable to reading Scripture and to dig into it on a daily basis.
It is always a struggle to set something up as a desire or natural habit, rather than a routine or checklist-item. I am looking forward to being pushed in my thinking and understanding of Scripture... or to see how God's Word relates to someone else or how I can take Scripture and put it into action.
What an exciting adventure! Bible studies have always been close to my heart... since first leading them and digging into Scripture on mission trips in high school, which then led into structuring women's bible studies on my own for girls in college, which also carried over into my leadership with young ladies in the student ministries where I am currently involved... and this is one more chapter in the adventure of understanding Scripture and living life alongside other people.
For the next few months, I'm sure that there will be more posts that will carry my excitement, questions, and frustrations as I dig into 1 Corinthians & 2 Corinthians with these ladies... for it is my goal to continue to share my translucent thoughts ...
