when you least anticipate it...

i met up with a friend today that i don't get to see real often. we live a little over 2 hours away from each other, so when we meet, we each drive halfway and end up in kalamazoo michigan. it was great seeing her and catching up on life. even though the distance between us isn't real long, we don't get together enough. life gets busy, schedules conflict, all that stuff.

we sat down at a table for six at panera, mainly because there wasn't a lot of seating left. obviously with only two of us, there was room at the end of the table for others to sit, but i think both of us really didn't anticipate anyone sitting down. to our surprise a middle aged guy asked if he could sit. of course we said yes, but in my mind i was thinking he'd eat his food, and we'd continue talking by ourselves.

i was wrong.

as we were talking about life and my friend was discussing a situation with one of her friends that is struggling with alcohol and some drugs, this guy spoke up and shared his opinion. at first i was surprised and maybe a little annoyed, because he was kind of "invading" our conversation. after a few minutes of him sharing a little of his story, i realized that this guy needed to be in a conversation more than we needed to have our own conversation.

we sat there for probably 45 minutes or so talking with him. about jobs, passions, hobbies, our pasts, goals, many things. it wasn't one of those conversations that was awkward or difficult to keep going. it just flowed.

i find it amazing that God works through us. he says he will, but when it happens, i am humbled by the fact that through my stubbornness, or MY plans, he is persistent enough to get my attention. to help change my mindsets. to sit and talk to a "stranger" who i may never meet again.

this is what it is all about. being the hands and feet of Christ. i think we all are blessed when we allow ourselves to be this, but i know i forget often how easy it is to obey and let my plans and schedules fail. failing in the sense that my focus is off me, and on others.

i pray that this man david will continue to seek truth and allow others to speak into his life, and also allow God to speak through him and his story.

lunch today was not only about catching up with an old friend, but meeting a new one and seeing Christ work. today was a good day. :)

human beings

i am taking a social psychology class these next seven weeks, and in the first chapter of my book, these are some quotes that struck me...

"over the years, social psychologists have found that two of these motives are of primary importance: the need to feel good about ourselves and the need to be accurate. there are times when each of these motives pulls us in the same direction. often, though, these motives tug us in opposite directions - where to perceive the world accurately requires us to face up to the fact that we have behaved foolishly or immorally."

"human beings are motivated to maintain a positive picture of themselves, in part by justifying their past behavior, and that under certain specifiable conditions, this leads them to do things that at first glance might seem surprising or paradoxical."

at first glance, both quotes make sense to me. kind of one of those, "duh" makes sense. although the more i think about them, and re-read them, i think about how simple, but profound they are. i know in my life there is this thing inside of me that wants to feel good about myself, and also the need to be accurate. and sometimes i do things to fulfill those needs and my actions do not make any sense to someone else. i wonder though, what does Christ say about these? i know it's easy sometimes to throw out the God card and say what would Jesus do, but really, what would Jesus do? is the need to feel good about ourselves and be accurate a quality that God has put inside of us, or a need that we have let control us?

i am interested in social psychology, but honestly, thinking about all of this is quite new to me. social psychology is defined as "the scientific study of the way in which people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people." so when we think about the things that make us feel good, or ways that we can be accurate, what does that actually look like when viewing it by that definition? can it be a positive thing, or have we created something God did not intend? it makes me think back to the garden...

comments...?