Last Exit Before Oblivion

Amid all the current hoopla about blogging--it seems we've hit the mainstream--I got to thinking about various things. One was a question: Why do we bother to write these things?

I write for several reasons. The first one was that no one would listen to me if I tried to tell them my ideas. I learned to keep quiet. Then, years later, I learned about writing as a way to put down ideas that had no other place to go.

In the process of doing that I learned that writing helped me understand what I was thinking. The act of writing an idea made it clearer, similar to the principle that the best way to learn something is to teach it.

Blogging is different. It's more immediate. More like a sand sculpture, done in one quick burst of idea. Something's on my mind or heart and I write it.

It turns out that this sort of thing isn't at all new. David was the first blogger, pouring out his heart to God because no one else would listen. The stories in the book of Psalms are about as wrenching as they come, and have given me much more confidence when I come to God with all my stuffing coming out.