My big mouth? Or for the best?
So, last year I was part of this group at Breakthrough Urban Ministries called BUILD, which is basically a racial reconciliation/social justice discussion group. We read articles and books and discussed them together. A lot of it had to do with inequalities in education and a lot about the way that black and white people view each other, even now. We talked politics and urban ministry and whether or not we can really reconcile if we aren't willing to live near each other. There were loud heated discussions, but oddly by the end of it, everyone seemed to really respect and even like each other. It was really refreshing for me, living here, to hear other people's thoughts on those issues. It was also nice, as a mom, to discuss something besides things relating to my children for one evening a week. After it was all over, I had everyone over for a little party and the leader guy even said to me "Susan, I never knew you were a mother!" God bless him. Not that I don't want to be known as a mother, but the fact that people saw me as something besides a mother of young children for a while was nice! (Did my mom jeans not give it away? What about the food stains on my clothes?)
So, now that I go to a church where several of these people attend as well, I've tried to keep up the occassional get-togethers to keep the discussion going a bit. We have one planned for Friday at our house and 3 or 4 people will be there, (besides Matt and I).
Soooooooooooo, last night on my walk home from my daughter's friend's house, I saw some guys that I regularly bump into on such walks. They drink beer on the corner, but I drink wine in my house, so who's to judge right? Anyway, we somehow got into a discussion about church, and then after quite a while one thing led to another and this BUILD get-together came up, and I.... invited them. Definitely not a "reigning it in" move. This was more of a totally not reigning it in move. Do I want these fellas in my house? One of them seems very excited to come over for chili, and after all our years in this neighborhood, I'd love it if a few people actually knew I was a Christian, you know? And I'd love to get them to our church, or at least into a church, (wait...am I making a huge judgment call to assume they don't go to church???). Or I'd at least like them to know that all Christians don't hate and judge them. I don't know. It was an impulsive move, but I might have wrecked the party. I usually serve beer and wine, but do I NOT now so that they don't take advantage of that situation? Do I cut them off after one beer? Oh, this all seems so petty when I really just want them to have a good conversation with my old BUILD friends, but I don't know. I don't know. Maybe this will be an actual test of whether or not our group learned anything during our discussions. Or maybe it will just be a test of the extent of my hospitality. We'll see....
So, now that I go to a church where several of these people attend as well, I've tried to keep up the occassional get-togethers to keep the discussion going a bit. We have one planned for Friday at our house and 3 or 4 people will be there, (besides Matt and I).
Soooooooooooo, last night on my walk home from my daughter's friend's house, I saw some guys that I regularly bump into on such walks. They drink beer on the corner, but I drink wine in my house, so who's to judge right? Anyway, we somehow got into a discussion about church, and then after quite a while one thing led to another and this BUILD get-together came up, and I.... invited them. Definitely not a "reigning it in" move. This was more of a totally not reigning it in move. Do I want these fellas in my house? One of them seems very excited to come over for chili, and after all our years in this neighborhood, I'd love it if a few people actually knew I was a Christian, you know? And I'd love to get them to our church, or at least into a church, (wait...am I making a huge judgment call to assume they don't go to church???). Or I'd at least like them to know that all Christians don't hate and judge them. I don't know. It was an impulsive move, but I might have wrecked the party. I usually serve beer and wine, but do I NOT now so that they don't take advantage of that situation? Do I cut them off after one beer? Oh, this all seems so petty when I really just want them to have a good conversation with my old BUILD friends, but I don't know. I don't know. Maybe this will be an actual test of whether or not our group learned anything during our discussions. Or maybe it will just be a test of the extent of my hospitality. We'll see....
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