I See People

Everywhere I went this weekend I saw people. I didn't see a group of same-beliefs, or odd-one-outs. I saw individuals, each with their own characteristics, mannerisms, perspectives. I saw God in each one.

Perhaps it's because I've stepped back from being in a leader-position, where one's view is generally of a sea of anonymous faces while perched high up above them on the stage.

I'm down among them now, seeking community and connection. I'm looking at their heart as it relates to my heart, and I'm finding we're the same. Those boundaries, those critical perceptions I held are but mist - they vanish if you take a step closer. I find myself wanting more time to spend getting to know each person, to put aside past differences and hurts and really know the person inside.

I saw individuals who are each on a journey, and that we're trying to head in the same direction. Our paths may differ, but they're parallel. We can reach over and touch each other as we walk. Sometimes the paths merge, and sometimes they wander further apart, but we're all going the same way. There's less that seperates us than unites us.

I felt connection - with the guy who I haven't gotten along with since he started working here 5 years ago, with the older woman who may have judged me but didn't, with the parent sitting outside smoking and waiting for his kids to finish their involvement in the church programme. I saw God in each one, felt that connection of light to light.

I think I'm changing. Slowly, surely, changing.