I make a lot of lists because I have a tendency to forget. I list homework assignments, people I need to call, ideas I have, quotes I like, places I have to go, things I need to pack, and even music I like to listen to. The previous sentence was a list of lists. Lists keep me organized and focused, two things I have trouble being.
A while ago, I thought about making a list of God's characteristics because I'm especially bad at remembering those. I thought a long, long list of things I know are true of God would help break my cycle of recreating God and stuffing him in a box. I got a few statements into it: "God is greater than anything around me." "God's mercies are new every morning." "God hates injustice."
Those things are true, but eventually I realized that this list thing was kind of weird. I mean, I don't make lists about any of my other friends. That would just be crazy. I don't have to say, "Lexy makes fantastic Cowboy Cookies" or "Mary is a great artist" or "Gabrielle looks like Mandy Moore" or "Autumn has a really sweet car." I don't make lists about my friends because I know them. They have a name for people who make lists about other people. They're called stalkers.
So I've focused on knowing God rather than knowing things about God. I don't need to make a God list any more than I need to make a Lexy list. I'm not the best at remembering, but God is very good at reminding.
Guilty as charged! I know someone else (besides me) who stalked God. She's in Mark 5:24-34. ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm always fascinated at how each person knows and experiences God in her own ways. It's just more evidence of our uniqueness, I think.
Have a great weekend, Sophia.