Protecting the Precious Moments

Some of the most beautiful things in life are deeply personal. They are moments of love, deep connection, and utter glory beyond measure. Intimate conversations with friends, having a baby, making love to your husband or wife.

But you know one of the things that makes these moments sacred? Privacy. There are things we were given that are for us and those closest to us, not for the masses.

This seems obvious enough, so why I am I telling you? Because some of us have forgotten, or have mistaken sweet privacy for loneliness. As a result, we take the sacred and display it in crude places for anyone to consume. I've seen friends lately who post pictures of themselves naked (maybe covering their breasts with their hands, or wearing lingerie) to show us their pregnant tummies. Or people who post themselves during/after a home birth, a special moment between a couple, trusted doula, and little newborn. While it's sweet to share this part of your life, and while your moment is beautiful, this is an intimate and sacred space.

So why does it matter? Can't a woman share what she pleases? Yes, she can, but it matters still. It matters because sharing the gold of our hearts in unprotected settings signals something amiss inside us. Shouldn't sharing the intimate moments of pregnancy with family and loved ones be enough? Shouldn't that adequately fill your heart with love and connection? Yet somehow in our culture, we esteem a big screen as a lofty place to be seen. We share our soul on a platform as if it's the only way to be noticed and, therefore, valued.

We've confused being known deeply with being seen outwardly.

Realize that even in a private room where you're alone with your Creator, you are fully known and loved. I love the poetic verse in the Bible (Psalm 139) where King David celebrates God's knowing him. He says, "My frame was not hidden from you...when I was woven together in the depths of the earth." What a beautiful God to care about the details of our lives! Realize that an audience cannot validate you, even with their accolades and "likes."  Giving what's sacred to the masses to evaluate will leave you empty with nothing left to call your own. Take back what matters most to you, and don't give it out in search of real connection. Have a hierarchy of those who are allowed to share the sacred things and those who are not. For not all who are on your Friend List are worthy.