When my website crashed a few weeks ago, I began to wonder if it was time to let it go.  Not stop writing, because I can do that directly to Facebook and Instagram, but let the website itself go…because, really, I’m the only one who looks at it.  It’s a creative outlet for me to design the font and photo layout for each post, but maybe that was time I needed to start focusing elsewhere.

So, I started evaluating my personal and blog social media accounts, which have evolved over the last two years.  This was an unexpected pause, but it gave me a chance to stop and plan how each account should look.  I lost count of the number of edits I made to my personal Instagram profile because to say my writing is eclectic is a bit of an understatement.

I fixed ComeSoAlive.com but I still wondered if I should keep it.  I wondered how to “market” Come So Alive, especially in a world of social media-worthy pictures and the right hashtags, neither of which I excel at.

Then I reread one of my very first posts, “My Armor for fiercely facing the storms of life.”  Someone I had just met asked for a sample of my blog posts, and I knew I wanted to include that one because it explains why it’s called Come So Alive.  I opened it to send her the link…and read my own words for why I write.

“I woke up and had the thought,

’I should start a blog.’

‘I hate blogs.  Why would I write one?’

‘To share hope and light the path for others,’ came the reply.”

Huh. I had forgotten that in the last two years.

Then the pieces fell into place.  I don’t write to cover a certain topic.  I write about where I find hope and beauty so I can remember them, so I can hold on to them.  Because I forget.  Regularly.

So, my topic list is extensive.

The beauty amid the storm of my son’s epilepsy.

God’s vast strength that walked with us through my husband’s stroke.

Wrestling with God and gratitude toward God.

Sunrises and sunsets.

Loved ones.

Music and books and poetry that are lifelines God throws out to me.

Meditation and photography and trying to learn to JUST. BE. STILL.

I often write with a dry sense of humor.  Ok, I can even be a little snarky at times.  But I try not to be mean – I’m usually the butt of my own jokes. 

I write about how I survive each day, how I keep running this race, and how I stumble running this race.

I think that’s about it.  I hope there’s something there you can relate to because mostly I write so you know you aren’t alone, not in the trials, not in the heartbreaks, not in the stumbling.  And when there’s joy and laughter and dancing, we get to share that too.

I have until September to decide if I want to renew the website or just use social media.  Whichever way it turns out, I now remember that, regardless of the various topics about which I write, every post is about sharing hope.  It’s about sharing hope with you.