For those inquiring if I am okay because I have not posted for a while — yes, I am okay! I have been working on several articles and they ended up becoming far more time consuming then I originally thought. Because I do a considerable amount of reading for each article, and books are becoming ridiculously expensive, it all takes time.

Although, I can afford to spend a bit more time on my articles now, because this year my readership online has gone gangbusters and taken on a life of its own. For example, more than 90% of my traffic is now from search engines, others posting links and pingbacks. Whereas before most of it came from social media sites. I have always maintained that people searching for you is far better than SMS’s for the simple reason, if a person is searching for you then they are more likely to read what you wrote. Besides social media is dying a slow death anyhow.

With COVID, a world in chaos and restrictions on the internet, I have found myself interacting more and more with real people in the real world and I am enjoying it. Sharing the Gospel on a face to face basis is what it is all about and the internet will never replace that. Although the internet has a place for sharing Christ with others, it is limited in a sense that we cannot truly judge human emotions and responses.

This year I discovered that for the average Christian life is tough. And a little care and some comforting words carry far more weight than some big doctrinal dispute. The early church practiced the simple aspects of the Christian faith and kept doctrines at bay. Having an opinion is okay but enforcing that opinion on others is not. Deliberately causing strife and descent amongst people and especially amongst believers is not okay.

Causing emotional suffering to people is a result of being distanced from that individual on the internet, which goes back to what I was saying earlier. In face to face contact we see the real person, and we can judge to what extent we are harming that person by the things we are saying and doing. And from now on the internet will only consume some of my time and not all of it.

I will be back posting on my blogs again soon, but differently. God has called me to finish my mission here on earth and to forget the rest for now. Stay safe, stay well and may our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ rule in our hearts and our lives always.

Cheryl Mason.