Hi everyone!
I originally wrote about this post in January of 2017, but
with the end of 2019 near, I felt it was a topic that deserved a revisit, because
a New Year always brings new opportunities. This post has been on my
heart for a while, but it just seemed like this was the right time to share it
with you.
Usually when people think of the acronym SEO, Search Engine
Optimization comes to mind. In fact, being a computer science
professor, you would think that is what I would think of first as
well. However, I am not your normal computer science professor and
as such, for me SEO has a different meaning. For several months now
when I have thought of SEO, Soul Enhancement & Optimization have come
to mind. Puzzled a bit? Well let me explain.
Yes, search engine optimization has helped us in terms of
how we travel throughout the Internet, but as a mom I also want to optimize how
I travel through life. It isn’t easy being a mom in today’s fast
paced world and a single mom at that. So as I prepare to teach my
own students about the Internet, this idea of Soul Enhancement & Optimization just keeps coming to mind.
Webster defines the soul as follows.
The spiritual part of a person that is
believed to give life to the body and in many religions is believed to live
forever; a person’s deeply felt moral and emotional state; the ability of a
person to feel kindness and sympathy for others, to appreciate beauty and art,
etc.
To enhance something is to “increase or
improve,” while optimization is “an act, process, or methodology of making
something as fully perfect, functional or effective as possible.” For the
record, this mom knows she can never be “fully perfect” on this side of
eternity, so that part of the definition I did not factor in.
Though as a single mom and a computer
science professor with a strong relationship with the Lord, the researcher
within wants to dive in and investigate this concept that has been on my mind
for a couple of months a bit further. How, as a mom can I experience
“Soul Enhancement & Optimization?” With my background firmly
rooted in academia at a Christian institution, I had to start with the
definitions and as a student of life, acronyms always seem fitting.
S – SOUL
Anyone who knows
me knows how deeply and emotionally I feel about things in my life. As a
creative person, beauty and art are things that I observe in places that quite
often others do not see. But is this just something that I was gifted
with or do some people miss out on art and the beauty that surrounds them because
of life’s circumstances. Let’s face it, there is not a single mom out
there that hasn’t been so overwhelmed with life at some point that they didn’t
want to just tell me, “Girl, observe beauty??? I have forgotten what that
even means in the midst of bills, homework and life.” Even in the midst
of my own life it would be so easy to throw in the towel and block beauty out. Sometimes
as moms, not just single moms but ALL moms, we get so busy trying to take care
of everyone and everything around us to the point that we don’t know which way
is up and if we do look up we often aren’t praying to Jesus, but merely
expressing “Help me Jesus!” just trying to survive. We remember what a
soul was, but we have forgotten what it truly meant to feel something from the
depth of our souls. But how can we find our way back? How can we
ENHANCE the seeds that were planted within our souls before life became too
much.
E – ENHANCE
As a mom, how can I improve my life so
that I am using the gifts that God has blessed me with in such a way that it
enhance my kids’ lives and the lives of those around me?
O – OPTIMIZATION
Let’s revisit the definition of
optimization once more. It is “an act, process, or methodology of making
something as fully perfect, functional or effective as possible.”
So wait a minute here, if we can figure
out how to take what we once valued so dear within our souls and enhance it,
could it be that in turn, through the very act of doing this that we could
become more functional and effective as moms? Would this work for all
moms? Is there an age limit?
Well let me share my own experience with
you and then you can pick and choose what may or may not work for you.
When I originally wrote this post I wrote
of coming down with the shingles. For those of you who may not know what that
is, it is the same virus as chicken pox, but very, very painful. I am
normally one who is moving through life so fast my best friend often tells me
that it’s like my hair is on fire. In the past year my family has gone
through a life experience that has changed us forever and those who have
followed our journey. Sometimes not so good things in life happen, not because
we have done anything wrong, but merely so the Lord can slow us down and get
out attention. For our souls to truly experience an enhancement and thus
optimization we have to lean in to the trials of life so that we can find the
beauty in the midst of the chaos.
Sometimes, in the midst of dealing with
pain and uncertainty we are able to hear the gentle whispers that He sends to
our souls and in turn we are enhancing our lives and watching every second of
our day optimized, but not just for our sake. It is through this process
that He is allowing us to be a light for others in the midst of their own
personal trial. It also allows us to be examples for our kids and it has
allowed by kids to be incredible examples to others.
The beauty of this all - when we are truly
leaning into life through prayer, the study of His word, giving & doing
for others when He leads us, participating in worship, and reading books by
other Christian authors who have done the same, we do see that are souls have
gone through an enhancement and optimization. This doesn’t mean that it
makes the pain of the trials any less, but what it does allow us to do, moms
and dads alike, is take a deep breath and know that NO MATTER what comes our
way, He will allow us to use it in a way to glorify Him.
So as the end of 2019 draws near, I am
leaning, dedicated to my own SEO experience. As new doors open and new
opportunities appear I want to make sure that God gets all of the credit for
the incredible things He has done and continues to do in my life. The New
Year will be here before we know it, time flies by so quickly, but it also reminds
us once again to make every second count.
Until next time…
Hugs!
Jen
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