I apologize for my lack of bloggage lately – normally I’m all about writing out my thoughts. Being an intern in the editorial department, you’d think I would have taken it upon myself to make blogging a priority, yet for some reason, my motivation hasn’t sparked since my very first entry. Ironically, I’m nearly done with my internship, but being overdue for an entry is better than never having another one, right?
Perhaps the reason for my uninspired creativity is that I simply cannot find a decent topic to write about. Some odd/humorous entry ideas have crossed my mind, but I chose not to act on them for fear of sounding ridiculous and too deep for my own good. However, one prominent theme has continually popped up throughout my time in Orlando. It comes in the form of an adjective, and it might sound quite familiar, considering the word is “relevant“.
Relevant is defined as “having a bearing on or connection with the matter at hand.†This summer, I have been hearing a lot about this word, and not just because I’m working for a magazine named after the term.
It seems like the topic of relevance has been mentioned during conversations in movies and Sunday sermons without fail, (at which point, the other interns and I would nudge elbows and chuckle to ourselves, because someone had just mentioned the name of the magazine we work for. We‘re easily amused.) But really, it seems a bit unreal at just how much I have heard the word. Call it superstition or a sign from above, but perhaps this summer I was meant to delve into that term for all it’s worth.
Sometimes relevance will be discussed when agreeing with what someone said, or when a person follows a seemingly correct path. Yet, I seem to hear the word irrelevant used more in everyday life, such as when someone says “Man, that’s irrelevant,†as in, it is beside the point. Some people may say faith is irrelevant, just as they may say listening to a certain musician is irrelevant to today’s music scene.
A few weeks ago, I heard someone speak about how we should live our lives outside of monotonous routines. This person said we should do so in a daring way, a way that challenges what the majority thinks, yet inspires them to do different (in a good way) in turn. Sometimes to show love, we have to step outside the box beyond our walls of comfort to make others see.
Some of the other interns and I have joked all summer long about what it means to look relevant. We’ve come to the conclusion that someone looks relevant if they look trendy – whether it be their long and sweeping or semi-long-yet-spiky hairstyles, or their keen fashion sense of loose fitting shirts and tights with high heels. With those aspects considered, I think my fashion sense is anything but trendy in nature. Does that make me an irrelevant person?
I don’t think being relevant people in God’s eyes has anything to do with whether or not we went along with what the trendsetters of the world thought or did. He loves aspects of everyone, whether they follow a trend or march to the beat of their own drum. I think he admires the quirky side of me, and the fact that I am my own person. I don’t think He cares that my hair is long, straight and often without a fancy style. Walking in heels is not in my genes, (I can’t do it no matter how hard I try!), and the thoughts I have about my father up there may seem irrelevant at first, but they soon blossom into a connection about the matter at hand once I understand more.
I think I thought a little too hard about this, and blabbed more than I should have, but the fact of the matter is, I don’t think my love for God can possibly be beside the point.
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In closing, I was just reflecting about everything I have completed throughout this internship. I realized just how many parts of this media group I was able to contribute to. You see, with this internship I was able to get my hands dirty, per se, killing three birds with one stone. Not only have I been able to write for Relevant, but I’ve helped out with Neue and Radiant at the same time. I’m so grateful to have been given the chance to write words that people my age, younger than myself and even ministers who lead entire congregations will read and reflect on. So much power has been placed in my hands, and I only hope the words I wrote were relevant to God, life and progressive culture, yet were a little off the beaten path in order to spark new interest about fresh ideas pertaining to life and religion.
As my summer in Orlando comes to an end, I’ll always remember the time I spent here. After all, I met Cinderella and Spiderman, went to the beach, lived in a “real world†house with nine other Orlando interns, visited some pretty spectacular churches, finally learned my way around the city and saw the Kennedy Space Center. Oh, and how could I forget? I got to work for one of the coolest publications to date!
With relevance,
Sarah Moore
