why blue marbles

Naming a blog is quite similiar to naming a child.  Well maybe not as significant- but lots of thought involved.  Does this name have meaning to me?  What will other people think when they hear it?  Will it bring up an alternative meaning in people’s minds?

After weeks of wading through domain names- some taken, some that didn’t resonate with my heart, etc- I said to my husband “I think I will run these names by some friends”  There was an audible sigh of relief as most of our recent nights had involved pros and cons of various names.  (Although he knew what he was in for many years ago when planning our wedding I excitedly told him “I’ve narrowed down invitations to my nine favorites- here’s a spreadsheet to compare them!”)

I haven’t gotten to the ‘why’ yet.  But this back story is important because it highlights the frequent interaction of my analytical personality with the whisper of the Holy Spirit.  One Saturday as I was going through feedback from friends for the name, I thought ‘blue marbles’.  And immediately was brought back to this story:

Early in our marriage we lived on campus at Bethel Seminary in St Paul Minnesota.  I had been wrestling with God- wondering if he notices me, if prayer ‘works’  if he hears my cries and if I hear his voice.  I went for a walk and asked “Father, will you speak to me, through Scripture, through song, through whatever means you desire.”  Immediately the thought came “Look for a blue stone.”  My response?  Frustration at myself.  I replied “See God, I can’t even focus on you.  I have these random thoughts come into my mind.”  I grumbled most of the walk.  And then about five minutes from being back home…..

Something sparkled in the dirt.  I bent down and grabbed a stick to unearth it.  It was a blue marble.  It looked like it had been there for a while.  I began to cry.  What kind of God notices a small marble roll away from a childs hand?  And then perhaps a year later, hears the heart of a young woman desparate to know He sees her.  And whispers to her spirit, “look for a blue stone”.

That moment I experienced the tenderness of God and the sovreignity of God all rolled together.  I went home, journaled about it and put it in glass container on my desk.  And then do you know what I did?  A few days later I began to explain away what had happened.  It was only a quirky coincidence.  I heard stone and that was a marble.  And so on.

Do you have moments like that?  When you notice blue marbles?  When God tugs at your soul and says this is important?

When I remembered this story, I knew I had found the name for this site.  Blue Marble God.  A place to slow down, to create margin in our life and to have ears to hear His voice and eyes to see His blue marbles.  To affirm that God is continually speaking and listening.  To journey with each other in discovery.  To not let go of this good work He has begun in each of us.

And to top it off, I have a five year old son.  He loves marbles.  His favorite color is blue.  Noticing God has never been more fun…and more challenging, than through this current season called motherhood.

So there you have it.  Blue Marble God.