What If...

I was reading Donald Miller's blog the other day and he requested his readers to ask a simple question: What if...? The results are lovely. Here's a link. Be sure to read at least some of the comments, because they're the best part.

I made a list of my own What if questions. Here it is, a little stream-of-conscious-y:

• What if I actually, seriously, chase after my crazy dreams?
• What if I used my energy to brainstorm ways to use my passions, as well as my gifts?
• What if I get (more) serious about being a writer?
• What if I never get married?
• What if I write for an audience of me?
• What if I stopped having a mindset of "waiting"?
• What if I leave out the "working on becoming" in the phrase "I'm working on becoming a writer"?
• What if I spent as much time reading my Bible and "keeping up with" God as I do keeping up with mere acquaintances on facebook?
• What if I finally set a time to volunteer with refugees in Nashville?
• What if God shows me a way to reach lost intellectuals here and now?
• What if I make an effort to better maintain long-distance friendships?
• What if I stop thinking about becoming a runner, and actually become a runner?
• What if I listened more and shared less?
• What if money didn't matter?
• What if a specific calling never comes?
• What if I never know for sure?
• What if I were truly vulnerable with people I love?
• What if I stopped worrying about what others will think?
• What if I worked to become more like those I admire?
• What if I really, really believed that prayer really, really works?

Reading others' What if questions and asking this question of myself inspired me to do so many things. And, as most inspiration goes for me, this means writing them out. Therefore, the next several posts here will be unpacking some, not all, of my What if questions.

Definitely ask yourself some What if questions (even in the comments section). In college, we would have "I love" conversations, where we would take turns completing sentences that began with "I love." Those were some of my favorite conversations. I would love to begin having "What if" conversations. I think, like Miller says, that's how we "create exciting and meaningful stories." Beautiful.

One person in the comments on Donald Miller's blog asked, "What if I asked myself this question every single day?" I love that.