The Great Adventure

I just crossed a milestone, of sorts, this morning. I posted my ten thousandth Tweet on Twitter.

This isn’t a blog to congratulate myself. Instead, it’s a moment to take stock of what all that means.

Statistically, I joined Twitter in November 2008. Since that time I have attracted 26,300 followers and added 111 photos and videos. I don’t remember them all of course, nor do I remember every statement I made on Twitter. I would like to think that every one was positive, uplifting, and made someone’s day a little brighter. But I don’t think that’s the case.

I thought for a while before I posted my last one. The hurricane in Houston has been overshadowing everything here in North Texas, and it has been heavy on my mind. I told my colleague, Mike Agee, yesterday, “I have nothing whatsoever to complain about.” All I can think about is the misery that so many thousands–hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions–are suffering through right now. And so I posted the message: Maybe the question isn’t “Why does God allow suffering?” and maybe it is “What are we willing to do about it?” Because I truly think that in some cases, suffering is there to see what those of us who are not affected will do in response.

Ten thousand tweets is a lot of communication. A lot of talking. We actually all talk a lot every day. But how much of it is meaningful?

Maybe it’s not about quantity. Maybe we need to be thinking about our words in terms of quality more often.

I certainly am going to try to.