Embracing Strangeness

One of my new favourite programmes is Call the Midwife. It deals with all sorts of emotions, from joy to sadness, frustration to contentment. It recognises the reality of life and is not afraid to confront all sorts of difficult issues. The nuns live in a way that is gracious and real. They accept people for who they are and love them just the way they are even if they disagree with how they live. They know the history of the people they are working with and they are not afraid to say what they think, often changing the way they look at things when they have heard of people's experiences.


When we live alongside people, when we are parts of communities we have to deal with all sorts of things. We might not think the way someone does something is right. We might prefer some people to others. Some people might be simply annoying. We might stand on the edge and feel like we are too different to everyone else to properly take part....


I've always been a people watcher. I like to stand at the side of the room and watch what others do, listen to what they are saying, seeing how they interact.... Partly because I am quiet, but partly because I like to see the bigger picture. 


To see the real bigger picture though, there are times when I have to jump in and be part of the community rather than standing watching on the edge. Only then do I feel the community - the joys, sadness, frustration and contentment. 


"So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life - your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking around life - and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him" Romans 12:1 (The Message)


God places us in community. We embrace it because of God, bizarre things and all. Then we deal with the hard stuff by walking alongside one another (even if as we walk alongside one another we discover we are going to end up in different places).