The Only Thing That Really Matters

I am sure anyone reading this title will think I am very presumptuous. I am not, actually. I am aware more and more every day how little I contribute to the global community, to the market economy, to--well, just about anything, really--anything, at least that the rest of the world really perks up its ears to hear about. What I write about is not very popular. It is probably not very marketable. All I do is write my heart. I know most people will reject it. I have lived long enough to learn a few things. I have learned that you must have a "platform" and a "following" before any publisher will be interested in what you write. You must present a marketing plan to any traditional publisher. And if you write about religious topics, you should probably be married to a pastor, be a missionary in a foreign country and/or be a "sought-after speaker." Well, no, no, and no to all those boxes. It is no secret that I write about what most people refer to as religion. Religion, especially Christianity, makes a lot of people nervous. I get that. I simply have little interest in having a huge following, and I know almost exactly nothing about technology, about marketing, about entrepreneurship, about anything that would help me succeed in this highly complex civilization in which we find ourselves, not to mention the topics I explore in my writing. I will say it again. There is really only one thing that matters. I have heard many different perspectives on, say, the gut reaction of someone who is asked this: What is the one thing that really matters--to you? And, of course, expecting a variety of distinct responses. Today is pretty much spoken for. I am writing in the morning, because I have an appointment at 1:00 this afternoon and my Wednesday night meeting at 6:30. I have been staying up very late since I've been on summer break. I have always believed that my natural bio-clock was designed for staying up until 2:00 a.m., so that working what the world considers "normal" hours is extremely counter-intuitive to me and unnatural. I tried to go to sleep at midnight last night and had to activate my typical "Word For Today" app I haven't used since school got out, and went to sleep immediately. Don't get me wrong. I love to listen to that app. I regard Chuck Smith's teaching as the best ever. I have simply discovered that it helps me go to sleep, not because it's boring, but because it's comforting. Suddenly, I'm at peace and can sleep. It's that simple. I also slept until 9:00 which is not what usually happens. I must have needed some rest. The other reason why today is spoken for is that it is too hot to want to go anywhere that is not absolutely necessary. The first day of summer was June 20 and the most memorable first day of summer in my entire lifetime. We had been enjoying a very temperate Spring, rarely reaching the upper 80s, and, suddenly, as (I am looking for a better simile here) a wrecking ball from above, seriously, summer arrived with a bang, and has given us little respite since. If someone asked you, "What is the only thing that really matters?" what would you respond? I know that I am addressing many writers, and I believe writers may have certain things in common. And we do have one very important thing in common. We write. Yes. You know not everybody writes. Most people I know do not write. Many people I know do not read, other than what is on their phones. And that is fine. I have no problem with that. All right. I am beating around the bush. I am beating around the bush because I am thinking about so many things at once. I have always assumed this was something we writers might have in common. Can you agree with me about that? If you are a writer, do you find your mind going in many different directions at once, or is that just about me having been diagnosed with "Adult ADD" 35 years ago? For one thing, I am writing in the morning, which I rarely do. I used to write in my journal (a composition book) every morning. Somehow, that became something I didn't want to do anymore. I don't know why. Does it matter? I don't know. People who write about writing, such as Anne Lamott and Julia Cameron, would have something to say about this, I'm sure. Cameron is the one who introduced the idea of "pages" many years ago. I used to do that: write three pages every morning. That was supposed to get your wheels turning or something like that. It never did that for me, but I would not say it was a bad idea. It probably wasn't. I am just kind of over trying things suggested in books about writing. I am kind of on my own at this point in my life. So, back to the topic at hand. I just looked up what C.S. Lewis said about salvation: "Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance." I owe C.S. Lewis a tremendous debt for writing "Mere Christianity," especially the part about Jesus being comparable to a poached egg if he wasn't who he said he was. Something like that. C.S. Lewis, of course, was exponentially more intelligent and skilled than I am, and the whole world recognizes that. I would never presume to compete with anyone at all, especially not someone like C.S. Lewis. All I can do with C.S. Lewis is sit as his feet and learn, which, of course, I don't exactly do. There are a couple of his books I have not read. Like I have said, my brain is all over the map at any given moment. All I really want to say about what is the only thing that really matters is figuring out who God is and where you and I fit into the "universe," as so many are wont to say these days, is the only thing that really matters. If you haven't read "Mere Christianity" I highly recommend that you read it. I really believe if I hadn't read that, I would be in an entirely different place right now, emotionally. I am not saying that is the only piece of my being that is the only one affected by the truths in this book. I am saying it is the first one that comes to mind, because, as I started to say, if I hadn't read that book, or, rather, if I hadn't been struck between the eyes with the truth presented to me in that book, I might be very crazy by now, or worse. I have exceeded 1,000 words, it is lunch time, and I have an appointment in an hour. So far, I have only recommended a book to you. If that is all I have done, it's going to have to be good enough for now. God bless you all.