I tend to seek privacy. While much of the world appears to eschew privacy in exchange for convenience or a chance at fame, I lean in to privacy. I don’t want to be known or recognized.

I don’t put bumper stickers on my car because I don’t need strangers to know anything about me. I don’t have accounts with most of the usual social media companies. I don’t wear hats or shirts with personally meaningful slogans. And I’ve never run for office of any kind.

Then my sister told me to publish this blog so more people — strangers — could read it. I had just been writing and sending it to her as part of my personal Bible study. A lot of time went by, but she kept encouraging me to publish them. And God said it too. I felt very strongly that it was something He wanted me to do.

“You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden.” (Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭14,‬ ‭CSB)‬‬

So I rolled my eyes and said, “Fine!”

The hardest part was getting over my desire to be hidden, behind-the-scenes, private. I spent some time and figured out how to make a devotional blog that could be visible to anyone who happened to find it. And then I gritted my teeth and made my first post public.

I haven’t spent any time promoting my writings. I have spent zero dollars and zero hours on marketing. I figure if God thinks there’s someone out there who needs to hear my words, He will lead them to me. But I don’t make it easy. My posts are buried in the sea of the Internet. I’m always surprised when someone swims up to read. I guess I haven’t obeyed God fully quite yet.

Dear God, thank you for giving me something to say every day I sit down to contemplate your word. And thank you for helping me figure out how to make my writing publicly available. Guide me now in the best way to make my devotionals easier to find for the people you have in mind to read them. Forgive me for being afraid of being seen. Teach me to trust you when I shine my light into dark places.