preconceived notions

So before I begin -- Thanks to Big Mike Lewis for reminding me that it was most likely his blog where I heard about John Burke's No Perfect People Allowed. I read his blog regularly, but couldn't seem to find the posts I recalled seeing. Upating that front, I am still reading the book and enjoying it thoroughly. I seem to be reading this one a bit more slowly than my usual pace, but I think it is because there is a lot to absorb and think about.

Moving on to the topic of the day -- ever have one of those days where you have some elaborate scene worked up in your mind that you are so sure you will encounter? Not only are you sure the encounter will happen, but you almost look forward to it even though you envision it being a somewhat argumentative confrontation? I have a tendency to do this, it probably has something to do with the fact that in real life I would rarely thrash someone verbally in public despite how much they incited me; though there have been times I have come close to doing so. There is a church community that I visit infrequently, partly due to the inevitable, insensitive, ungenerous words of the preacher (in my opinion) that just burn me up. I have come to expect this when I go, which is the reason that I had not been there since Easter -- which was a particularly bad experience. Don't get me wrong, the guy has the best intentions and from what I can tell he doesn't say the things that get under my skin just to get a rise out of me. There are apparently just some areas where he and I don't even come close to seeing eye-to-eye, and I believe it is to the detriment of the community of believers and the local community they are trying to reach.

Today I was spared the confrontation I had envisioned in my head as they had a guest speaker. However, the spiritual climate in that church community has altered significantly since my last visit, and from what I can tell it is for the better. I noticed little differences in the way things were done or said, and I hope what I noticed is truly becoming the norm. Preconceived notions aren't healthy, since obviously change is always in the mix, which I know from personal experience. Knowing that people can change, and accepting that it will occur on a timetable we cannot fully understand, life can be a lot less stressful. Certainly that doesn't mean we should kick back and just let things take their own course if we have something to say - I may not have said anything publicly in the past, but my concerns were voiced in other avenues - but we should recognize that since we are all imperfect people, we need each other desperately so we don't keep screwing things up. Cynicism and judgementalism do not help anyone -- a lesson I learn often.