Steel Sieve

You’ve heard the phrase “a mind like a steel trap”? Well, with all the chaos I’ve been juggling over the past year, I feel like my mind has become something of a steel sieve. (I’m certain turning 30 didn’t help.) I try to mitigate it in one way or another, but the truth is my thoughts sometimes hide from me with greater skill than…well, something very good at hiding.

While I haven’t been blogging, I’ve still been thinking bloggy thoughts. I’ve tried to follow the advice of the many wise and inspired people who came before me and write down the thoughts when I have them: on a post-it, on a notepad on my nightstand, on a note in my iPhone, in a draft email, even in a draft blog post! But by the time I get back around to reading my little prompts, I can’t for the life of me remember what they’re talking about.

A steel sieve I tell you!

I have quite a collection of these idea fragments. On one hand, when I look at them I feel a little disheartened as I desperately try to recall what I’m supposed to remember. (For example: “turn lane light”? Huh?)

On the other hand, the smorgasbord of words and phrases and half-formed sentences stand as a testament to the running dialogue I share with my beloved Savior.

A very heartening thought indeed!

Maybe the window of opportunity has passed for some many of those thoughts to become published posts. They’ve slipped through the sieve. But I’m making peace with that. Because as I look back, I’m encouraged to see not the sieve, but the evidence of God’s voice consistently speaking into my everyday moments. More than that, each fragment is evidence not just that he’s speaking to me, but that I’m hearing him too.

May I always have ears to hear and eyes to see.