On Monday (I had the day off for Presidents Day, God bless America!) I took a quick glance at Facebook and saw some fun pictures of a good friend, Alex Rae, at her bridal shower (so many friends are getting married! Man. Doesn't the Bible say something about this? "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars and all your friends will get married and forget about you, but don't be alarmed. Such things must happen"?). The shower was on Sunday, which I knew cuz another good friend, Kaeli, went and couldn't hang out with "the boys" after church. =( (Secret: we didn't miss her that much. =P Pizza and... stuff... are maaarvelous distractions.)
I was just clicking away from the pictures when something caught my eye. The little newsfeed line about Alex said, "tagged in [so and so's] album." That name seemed really familiar, but I couldn't place it right away. I thought, of course it's familiar, I see names of friends' friends on here all the time. But I didn't quite think that was it.
I clicked on the name and it was suddenly clear (pictures are helpful like that). This girl, one of my friend's friends from when they were little kids... is one of my coworkers!
(Okay, okay. So we missed you, Kaeli. A lot. =)
That's why that name looks familiar! I see her emails every day! I see her every day! We work in different departments, but we knew who each other were and had talked before when we needed to adjust meeting schedules or whatnot. But it's weird to think how easily so much time can go by without two people in close quarters knowing they have a really good mutual friend.
And then it got cooler. We talked on Tuesday (first day of the work week, God bless America!) and she said, "Yeah and I talked to your other friend too!" Think, think, think. "Oh, Kaeli?!" "Yeah!"
Kaeli asked her at the shower what she does for work and she said she's a VFX coordinator. Kaeli said, "Oh, one of my friends is a visual effects coordinator! Where do you work?" My coworker told me she thought something like, there're lots of VFX places - no chance. "Zoic Studios."
Haha, how cool, right?! Alex and my coworker have been friends for years and years. She went to the church I grew up going to! And we realized at work the other day that we must've been at a bunch of the same parties and gatherings at Alex's house over the years and just not recognized each other when we both ended up at Zoic! Haha, "and the awesome pizza's her dad always makes on the barbecue?!" "YES!!" She thinks she may even have pictures from some of the parties with me in them. =P
Life is fun, ya know? So many paths crossing and crisscrossing back and forth! Oh man, I just remembered another one!!! When I road-tripped to Telluride, CO for Thanksgiving this last year I stopped in Zion in Utah on my way back to California. (That's actually prolly worth sharing some pictures from. Maybe I'll do that later.) It was early morning in the canyon and I stopped to chat with a some guys who were capturing awesome time-lapse footage of the sunrise over the mountains with a cool mechanical camera rig. We talked for a few minutes about where we'd been traveling (they'd just spent the night camping in the freezing cold, if I remember correctly) and about their setup, which made them curious how I was familiar with their gear and fluent in their lingo. Turned out one of the guys went to art school with and is good buddies of a VFX artist I was working with at Zoic at the time!
The point (or thought, maybe) is, I feel like we could have these kinds of encounters more often and discover more of these connections that surely exist and move around us without our knowledge if we were more awake to life or the Spirit (kinda the same thing?). I wanna be connected (big life picture, not career path or goal wise). I want my interactions with people to mean something and be memorable, to them and to me! To hint that there's a larger story going on around us and that we're part of it!
I'm inviting you, God, to show me more of the crisscrosses I've been oblivious to... cuz I think you like it. =) I know I do.
February 25, 2012
February 20, 2012
(not) surprised
I went to a movie night at a coworker's church last Sunday. He'd invited me a month or so ago (prefaced with, "I don't usually invite people to the ghetto") and he didn't respond to my text on Sunday when I tried to confirm (I realized the Grammy's were on and I might've mixed up my dates). I'd committed, though, and since I couldn't get in touch with him I Google-mapped the church name and went out, hoping something would be happening when I got there. =)
And I'm glad I did. I was the only white person there and I felt like I was with-- no, I was with family.
I showed up and was glad to see cars in the lot, but thought for a moment I might be in the wrong place when a woman said, "Hi!" and asked who invited me... and didn't know my friend. She knew I'd been invited by someone, which I assumed was because she knew everyone else, but probably had more to do with the fact that I kinda stood out. =P
I made sure there was indeed a movie night happening (not wanting to walk empty-handed into a potluck or male into a women's Bible study on Song of Solomon) and went in.
I met a couple delightfully friendly people before hearing my buddy from across the sanctuary. "Duuude!" (When I think of this guy I hear that in my head every time - he kinda says it a lot. A lot, a lot. =) He was surpriiised to see me. He's got a new phone number so hadn't gotten my text (a text which funnily led to a text conversation with someone named Cathy later that night who now has my buddy's old number). He wasn't counting on me being there.
The movie was Courageous, a Christian-made cop drama with a good message and production quality. It's one of the better "Christian movies" I've seen and I recommend it.
There were little kids glued to the police action and parents with infants in their arms and grandparents and teenagers all laughing together and grimacing together and feeling together. It was really fun. The congregation discussed the movie afterward; people sharing their thoughts and favorite moments; raising questions, etc., which felt natural and enjoyable. These people were honest and caring and willing to be vulnerable with each other like family (should be). I could see and hear brokenness and hurt in the lives around me and in the ways they related to different aspects of the movie, but there was a real joy and hope at the same time! I had such a good time.
I thought the evening was over when the pastor said, "Well, it's been a great night..." and I was ready to make the drive home, but then he was saying, "...so do we have any first time visitors tonight?" Haha, it makes me chuckle to think about it cuz I swear everyone in there knew exactly who he was talking to. Me.
I laughed and raised my hand and he "found me" in the crowd =P and said something like, "Wonderful! So glad to to have you here with us! Stand up and tell us about yourself! Who are you, where are you from, who do you know, what'd you think?!" My buddy seemed a little embarrassed or something at me being "put on the spot", but I was strangely happy about it! I already felt like hugging everyone. I stood up (and a guy ran over with a mic =) and it felt so easy and free, talking to them, being a welcomed part of their family. I thanked them all and said I'd be back again, which I will!
I met my buddy's mom (who happens to have very good taste in movies - she told him to watch Warrior and then he told me - so. good.) and shook hands and hugged and said goodnight to people like we'd known each other for years.
And as I drove home, truly refreshed and and delighted by God, looking forward to seeing all these people again, I wondered...
Why is the Body so disjointed? Why am I so surprised to feel this love and friendship with other believers just cuz I didn't know them when I got up this morning? I shouldn't be.
It says something, I think, about the condition of the church as a whole. We let denominations and preferences in worship music and tradition and ritual and dress codes separate us from each other, from the Body. We say we're all brothers and sisters and all part of a whole, but do we act like it? Do you ever go to other churches? Like, outside of your denomination? Would your friends or leaders? Would you... be "allowed" to? Seriously, people go to churches across the street from each other and act as if the other doesn't exist. You see churches interacting with and reaching out to the world, but do you see them interacting with each other? Acting like they're family? Like they're all children of the same Father (all "adopted")? Isn't it possible that some kind of good could come from at least knowing some of our brothers and sisters? Our fellow soldiers?
And I'm glad I did. I was the only white person there and I felt like I was with-- no, I was with family.
I showed up and was glad to see cars in the lot, but thought for a moment I might be in the wrong place when a woman said, "Hi!" and asked who invited me... and didn't know my friend. She knew I'd been invited by someone, which I assumed was because she knew everyone else, but probably had more to do with the fact that I kinda stood out. =P
I made sure there was indeed a movie night happening (not wanting to walk empty-handed into a potluck or male into a women's Bible study on Song of Solomon) and went in.
I met a couple delightfully friendly people before hearing my buddy from across the sanctuary. "Duuude!" (When I think of this guy I hear that in my head every time - he kinda says it a lot. A lot, a lot. =) He was surpriiised to see me. He's got a new phone number so hadn't gotten my text (a text which funnily led to a text conversation with someone named Cathy later that night who now has my buddy's old number). He wasn't counting on me being there.
The movie was Courageous, a Christian-made cop drama with a good message and production quality. It's one of the better "Christian movies" I've seen and I recommend it.
There were little kids glued to the police action and parents with infants in their arms and grandparents and teenagers all laughing together and grimacing together and feeling together. It was really fun. The congregation discussed the movie afterward; people sharing their thoughts and favorite moments; raising questions, etc., which felt natural and enjoyable. These people were honest and caring and willing to be vulnerable with each other like family (should be). I could see and hear brokenness and hurt in the lives around me and in the ways they related to different aspects of the movie, but there was a real joy and hope at the same time! I had such a good time.
I thought the evening was over when the pastor said, "Well, it's been a great night..." and I was ready to make the drive home, but then he was saying, "...so do we have any first time visitors tonight?" Haha, it makes me chuckle to think about it cuz I swear everyone in there knew exactly who he was talking to. Me.
I laughed and raised my hand and he "found me" in the crowd =P and said something like, "Wonderful! So glad to to have you here with us! Stand up and tell us about yourself! Who are you, where are you from, who do you know, what'd you think?!" My buddy seemed a little embarrassed or something at me being "put on the spot", but I was strangely happy about it! I already felt like hugging everyone. I stood up (and a guy ran over with a mic =) and it felt so easy and free, talking to them, being a welcomed part of their family. I thanked them all and said I'd be back again, which I will!
I met my buddy's mom (who happens to have very good taste in movies - she told him to watch Warrior and then he told me - so. good.) and shook hands and hugged and said goodnight to people like we'd known each other for years.
And as I drove home, truly refreshed and and delighted by God, looking forward to seeing all these people again, I wondered...
Why is the Body so disjointed? Why am I so surprised to feel this love and friendship with other believers just cuz I didn't know them when I got up this morning? I shouldn't be.
It says something, I think, about the condition of the church as a whole. We let denominations and preferences in worship music and tradition and ritual and dress codes separate us from each other, from the Body. We say we're all brothers and sisters and all part of a whole, but do we act like it? Do you ever go to other churches? Like, outside of your denomination? Would your friends or leaders? Would you... be "allowed" to? Seriously, people go to churches across the street from each other and act as if the other doesn't exist. You see churches interacting with and reaching out to the world, but do you see them interacting with each other? Acting like they're family? Like they're all children of the same Father (all "adopted")? Isn't it possible that some kind of good could come from at least knowing some of our brothers and sisters? Our fellow soldiers?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
