26 Comments
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Marcia Lee Laycock's avatar

Yes. As Elizabeth Barrett Browning has said: "All earth is crammed with heaven and every common bush afire with God. But only those who see take off their shoes."

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Anna Tran's avatar

Oh I love this quote. May we have eyes to see and heart rested enough to take the time to take off our shoes.

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Marcia Lee Laycock's avatar

Amen!

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Kallan's avatar

I’ve been deciding/praying on whether or not I’m going to leave Instagram and I think this was my confirmation.

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Anna Tran's avatar

You won’t ever regret walking the narrow way x

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BEE Channel's avatar

This was such a good reminder to keep my boundaries with social media. I am learning to dabble in it and not dwell. Thanks for sharing.

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Christine Pechstein's avatar

There are so many nuggets of wisdom in here. It’s beautifully written and leaves me so much to consider. Thank you.

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Anna Tran's avatar

Thank you Christine for this comment! It is a topic I have been thinking about for a long time. Many things still in process but I am glad that what I have shared has given you thing to think about 😊

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Elizabeth Nicole's avatar

Beautifully written - a perspective on social media wisdom I haven’t seen before.

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Anna Tran's avatar

Thank you for reading! God has been teaching me a lot about my relationship with social media. I am glad that what I have written has been useful to you 😊

I am just wondering whether there was a part that particularly stood out to you?

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Elizabeth Nicole's avatar

I appreciate the message of looking deeper at our motivations and at what we are truly seeking. A healthy approach to social media requires acknowledging our need to be seen and pursuing true and meaningful connections with God and others, rather than just deleting Insta because "it's bad" (although there's a time for that, too).

I particularly liked your conclusion: "Don’t cut the wildflowers before they have had time to bloom. Don’t cut them at all! But cultivate the hidden places, enjoy and be transformed by the divine life all around you. See with eyes that are primed to behold rather than intentions to ‘capture and post.’" :)

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Anna Tran's avatar

Thank you, Elizabeth for taking the time to answer my question. The 'why' behind everything we do is so important. And my conclusion was learned through my first ever fast. I found that I was able to enjoy moments with way more presence because I didn't need to think about capturing it!

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Danielle Morgan's avatar

This was very good, thank you 💛

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Anna Tran's avatar

Thank you Danielle! 🧡

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Jae C.'s avatar

Attention is the beginning of devotion!!! Big wow. Thank you for all of your words. 🤍

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Anna Tran's avatar

This is the whole quote. I love it, it really helps me as I parent and as I focus my attention.

“Teach the children. We don’t matter so much, but the children do. Show them daisies and the pale hepatica. Teach them the taste of sassafras and wintergreen. The lives of the blue sailors, mallow, sunbursts, the moccasin-flowers. And the frisky ones–inkberry, lamb’s-quarters, blueberries. And the aromatic ones–rosemary, oregano. Give them peppermint to put in their pockets as they go to school. Give them the fields and the woods and the possibility of the world salvaged from the lords of profit. Stand them in the stream, head them upstream, rejoice as they learn to love this green space they live in, its sticks and leaves and then the silent, beautiful blossoms. Attention is the beginning of devotion.”

Mary Oliver

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Jae C.'s avatar

No wonder!! I love Mary Oliver!!! 😭

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Jourdana Elizabeth's avatar

Beautiful piece! Precious and hidden. I appreciate this so much as the world of instagram and beyond only sees value in the highly visible. Thank you for sharing.

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Anna Tran's avatar

I hear you 😭 I went from the social work world into the corporate world where visibility was everything. It was such a contrast and made me see how little people desire to keep things hidden, private and precious. But also just how empty recognition from the world really was. Still chewing on these thoughts.

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Adam Lawley's avatar

‘The wildflowers are meant to be wild” 👏 That is so good. Great post!

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Anna Tran's avatar

Thank you Adam! I am glad you enjoyed this post 😊

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The Creator's Place's avatar

Home-run! Grand-slam! Macro Slam-dunk! That’s how I feel about this post, Anna. So, well said and beautifully shared. I feel like the Lord was all into that message. Praise God! Thank you!

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Anna Tran's avatar

hahah!! Thanks bro 😊 Really encouraging! It's amazing what God wants to speak about when we let him!

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The Creator's Place's avatar

Amen and Amen and Amen!!!

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Lindsey Sims's avatar

Beautifully said 🤍

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Anna Tran's avatar

Thank you Lindsey 🧡

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