Folks differs,
dearie. They differs a lot. ~ Ann Petry
I've lived in a lot of differing
communities – in big cities, in farm houses, on an island, in small
towns on both sides of the tracks.
I myself have been educated in nine
different schools, in four different provinces. My kids have been in
public school, in private school, in a one-room schoolhouse, and
home-schooled.
I've been a part of work communities in
offices, restaurants, hospitals and malls.
I've been part of church communities
that met in schools and libraries and living rooms and warehouses;
churches that had three people, churches that had three services;
churches that you had to dress up for, or that you had to dress down
for; churches where you were expected to speak in tongues, churches
where you were expected to wear closed toe shoes; churches where
people invite you home for lunch, churches where people stare and
send you home lonely.
I'm not exactly a world traveler, but
I've had a lot of neighbours.
My dream was always to just live in one
place, to be part of one community, to raise my children with roots
and a sense of belonging, and to not always feel like an outsider or
an interloper, or somebody being welcomed and learning the ropes.
That's not how we do it.
Now my dream is to
live in an RV.
I'm over it.
The older I get, the more I have that
this world is not my home feeling. I'm just passing through. I
don't mind anymore that I don't exactly belong anywhere.
Honestly, I'm getting more and more OK
with that.
People are basically the same
everywhere I have been – but the truth is, every community has not
been the same. Every community is a kind of community within a
community – I often have to be in and out of one in order to
catch its flavour.
This small town I live in right now –
it's a great town. It's a very wonderful place to live and, aside
from the $250 seat belt ticket we got in our driveway on the day we
moved to town, people have been very welcoming and warm
right from the start.
It's a nice town full of good, kind people – as nice as any
place I've ever lived.
Sometimes I almost feel like I
belong, like I have roots here, like these are my people.
People here drink coffee, they have sharp wits and easy smiles, they
shop the thrift store, they read books, they help people in need,
they give their kids sugar, they volunteer, they communicate with
gifs, they mind their own business and they share their fax machines. What more could anyone want?
So
what if some people
think the earth is flat, and some people think God makes gold dust
rain from the rafters, and some people think Donald Trump is a great
man of God, and some people think don't tell is a great life
motto, and some people shop-vac their drive-ways, and some people think the Holy Spirit leads them to abandon their spouse and children so that they can be happy...
So what if that's not me? We are
not all the same – even though we kind of are.
We all want to be loved, to receive
grace for our mistakes, to be right about what's important, and to
not suffer.
I have yet to meet anyone anywhere who
wasn't that way.
Is it really so important for me to try
to persuade others to see things from my particular point of view?
I am ambivalent about so many things.
I'm trying to mind my own business.
I had some fun with Donald Trump memes
prior to the election – but, after 'the people spoke', I didn't
feel it was right to entertain myself by running commentary on the
politics of another country. It certainly wouldn't be considered
polite. I certainly wouldn't want it done unto me.
Folks differs, dearie.
Sometimes it has felt like living next
door to a domestic abuse situation. I have worried a lot about the
kids. I think my eyes rolled in my head a little bit at the last mass
shooting. As far as compassion and empathy are concerned, I think we
are running a trade deficit.
Please, just keep it on your side of
the fence.
That's not how we do it.
Until there's a scuffle, and the fence
gets broken, and now it's my business.
Why does it become my business when it
is no longer about what is right, but about how the wrong
directly affects me?
I don't think I'm ok with that. I'm
trying to work it out.
On one occasion an expert in the
law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I
do to inherit eternal life?”
What
is written in the Law?” he replied.“How do you read it?”
He answered,
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love
your neighbor as yourself.’”
“You have
answered correctly,”Jesus replied.“Do this and you will live.”
But he
wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my
neighbor?”
In reply
Jesus said:“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he
was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him
and went away, leaving him half dead.
A priest happened to be going down the same
road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.
So too, a Levite, when he came to the place
and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he
traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity
on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and
wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn
and took care of him.
The next day he took out two denarii and
gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and
when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may
have.’
“Which of
these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the
hands of robbers?”
The expert
in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him,“Go and do
likewise.” ~ Luke 10
