Reflections

How can I describe the past few months of this project? I have shed tears with the people I have met; I have labored over the words to tell their stories; I have learned gleaned blessings from the wisdom they have shared.

And oh, what wisdom they have.

I began this process with the hope of finding the meaning and redemption in the lives of misfits. Now, I’m beginning to see that their lives seem to be richer with meaning than I imagined. The people I have met have a clearer, bigger view of the world. They know God differently than I could. Because they don’t fit into the mold, they more easily see others as people with individual lives and stories.

They have helped me see more clearly, too, by letting me pull back the blinds and look deep into their hearts. They have let me ask the hard questions. They have honored me with their answers. Most of all, they have invited me to listen well, and to teach others how to listen.

And so as I reflect on the things I have learned through this process, I beg you to listen. Listen and see. No one is the same. If you belong to an amorphous Christian culture, be careful to guard your assumptions about the people around you – they are not you. Instead of making assumptions, ask questions. Listen, and see. Grind up the presuppositions cemented into your mind and start afresh with a softened heart.

If you have trouble imagining how to do this, a good place to start would be to take a look at the Resources page on this blog. There are some helpful videos and articles on a range of topics that might offer new insights for you. They did for me.

One of the best things I have learned through this project is that God is good and he is faithful even – I might say, especially to the hurting. He loves deeply, and he wants us to love deeply.

Sometimes that love comes in the form of weeping with those who weep, or breaking down our stereotypes, or closing our mouths to listen to another’s heart.

My project is over, but I plan to keep listening and telling these stories. Because the more we listen to people made in God’s image, the more richly we can know him.

What a joy and a blessing to my heart this has been!