I've been thinking about two encounters I had with "unbelievers." I'm calling them that because I honestly don't know if they are or aren't, but I'm drawing a conclusion based on my observations.
The first is a man I met at the park yesterday. I'll spare you all the unnecessary details, but in our conversation, he expressed to me and another woman how intensely devoted he is to his two-year-old daughter. He and his wife were married later in life, had this one child even later and now he is dedicated to making everything happen for this child. He left a relaxed, carefree lifestyle in a beachside community to come here and provide first a family-filled, friend-filled environment for this young child. He does not like this area, he has yet to find a job or a good cheeseburger. I might add, this man was hysterical, very intelligent and extremely passionate about being a dad.
My second encounter was today at lunch. Em and I have Tuesday free - I chose to do this this year - and we've been meeting T for lunch. Today we had lunch with an old grad-school friend of his who is single, non-religious, and the adoptive mother of a beautiful little girl from China. She shared with us her first adoption process, and what really stood out to me was her firm belief that her cousin, who fell and died the next day, was in complete control of that adoption. She believes that "their souls crossed," meaning his and her daughters, and she she's many of his attributes in her. She is in the process of another adoption and is not really seeing the same connection she saw with the first.
My first reaction to both of these people is that I'm similar and different from them - sort of the way we are with everyone! So, not such a revelation. Not to compare myself with them, I moved onto: what if these two people translated their passion and belief to one true savior? This man, who was so passionate about his daughter, would be expressing to us his love and devotion for Christ. This woman, and her belief in a spiritual connectedness with her dead cousin, what if she could convey this same connectedness with Christ? What about me? Am I passionate about Christ? Can I communicate a spiritual connectedness with the Savior of the world??
What I found most striking in both of these instances was the unabashedness of the revealer. Each of them was proud of their allegiance to their passion and belief. This man believed that living for and loving his daughter completely, with complete disregard for his comfort (well not complete - he is living in a $750,000 home!) and lifestyle, was quite honorable. This woman thought nothing of this connectedness she felt with a well-loved cousin, whose presence in her life was quite welcome. They were not embarrassed to share, made no attempt to convince me they were right or wrong, honestly just expressed from their hearts, without any regrets, the way they felt.
There are times in my life when I hear things from people and my response, in my heart, is to offer them a peace that passes all understanding, a joy that is overflowing, a savior who knows them better than they know themselves, but I don't think they will accept my offer. Maybe it's because it's an offering and not a revealing, it's a "come try it my way" instead of a "this is what my life is like!" And then there's always that little voice inside my head that tells me, "They already know what you're thinking, and they don't want to hear it." And on those very rare occasions, when someone actually asks what I'm thinking, there I am once again, fumbling around my words so as not to offend anyone.
I think I want to be unabashedly Christlike in my encounters with others. I want to reflect what He has done for me, not be pushy but spark some interest. I want more people to ask what I'm thinking and not be afraid of my answers. I want to shine a little light.
The truth is, I listened to these smart, funny people and thought to myself, "I'm not really all that different from them at all!" I love my kids, I think often about my dad and wonder how much influence (although probably none at all!) he has in our lives. I just see things through a different lens.
The first is a man I met at the park yesterday. I'll spare you all the unnecessary details, but in our conversation, he expressed to me and another woman how intensely devoted he is to his two-year-old daughter. He and his wife were married later in life, had this one child even later and now he is dedicated to making everything happen for this child. He left a relaxed, carefree lifestyle in a beachside community to come here and provide first a family-filled, friend-filled environment for this young child. He does not like this area, he has yet to find a job or a good cheeseburger. I might add, this man was hysterical, very intelligent and extremely passionate about being a dad.
My second encounter was today at lunch. Em and I have Tuesday free - I chose to do this this year - and we've been meeting T for lunch. Today we had lunch with an old grad-school friend of his who is single, non-religious, and the adoptive mother of a beautiful little girl from China. She shared with us her first adoption process, and what really stood out to me was her firm belief that her cousin, who fell and died the next day, was in complete control of that adoption. She believes that "their souls crossed," meaning his and her daughters, and she she's many of his attributes in her. She is in the process of another adoption and is not really seeing the same connection she saw with the first.
My first reaction to both of these people is that I'm similar and different from them - sort of the way we are with everyone! So, not such a revelation. Not to compare myself with them, I moved onto: what if these two people translated their passion and belief to one true savior? This man, who was so passionate about his daughter, would be expressing to us his love and devotion for Christ. This woman, and her belief in a spiritual connectedness with her dead cousin, what if she could convey this same connectedness with Christ? What about me? Am I passionate about Christ? Can I communicate a spiritual connectedness with the Savior of the world??
What I found most striking in both of these instances was the unabashedness of the revealer. Each of them was proud of their allegiance to their passion and belief. This man believed that living for and loving his daughter completely, with complete disregard for his comfort (well not complete - he is living in a $750,000 home!) and lifestyle, was quite honorable. This woman thought nothing of this connectedness she felt with a well-loved cousin, whose presence in her life was quite welcome. They were not embarrassed to share, made no attempt to convince me they were right or wrong, honestly just expressed from their hearts, without any regrets, the way they felt.
There are times in my life when I hear things from people and my response, in my heart, is to offer them a peace that passes all understanding, a joy that is overflowing, a savior who knows them better than they know themselves, but I don't think they will accept my offer. Maybe it's because it's an offering and not a revealing, it's a "come try it my way" instead of a "this is what my life is like!" And then there's always that little voice inside my head that tells me, "They already know what you're thinking, and they don't want to hear it." And on those very rare occasions, when someone actually asks what I'm thinking, there I am once again, fumbling around my words so as not to offend anyone.
I think I want to be unabashedly Christlike in my encounters with others. I want to reflect what He has done for me, not be pushy but spark some interest. I want more people to ask what I'm thinking and not be afraid of my answers. I want to shine a little light.
The truth is, I listened to these smart, funny people and thought to myself, "I'm not really all that different from them at all!" I love my kids, I think often about my dad and wonder how much influence (although probably none at all!) he has in our lives. I just see things through a different lens.
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