Surprised by What We Like (08/20/2024)

Years ago, we lived in the town in Iowa in which my husband was born. His family still lived in nearby communities and would drop in for a visit. One of our more frequent visitors was my husband’s brother. On one of his first visits, as we were eating dinner, he announced that he liked most food, but he wouldn’t eat any dish made with sour cream. I smiled as I offered him the dish of stroganoff, “Would you care for another helping?” He accepted the dish and complimented me on the delicious sauce over my beef and noodles. I didn’t say a word.

It was only years later, as we sat at the dinner table with my beef and noodles with that delicious sauce, that I admitted to him that he’d been eating stroganoff with sour cream for years. He looked shocked. He looked at me, he looked at the stroganoff on his plate, and then he smiled as he dove into the pile with his fork. He forgave me for my years of non-disclosure concerning the menu. We still laugh about it when it comes up in our conversation. Sometimes we are surprised by what we like.

We can make decisions in our life about what we like and don’t like, what’s for us and what isn’t, not based on experience, but on pure, uninformed preferences. And we can set ourselves up for a journey lacking some great moments. As I think about our modern world, I know that many don’t like to go to church. They usually share with me, knowing that I do like to go to church, that they are “spiritual” but without pews. And I wonder why.

Did they have a bad experience in church? Sometimes, we as faith communities can act less than lovingly. I pray that is not the reason. Or did they decide that the church experience is just not real, that’s it’s unscientific?

What are we called to do, those of us who consider ourselves people of faith? Our savior told us; love the LORD with all our strength and love one another. I think back to my study of the early church and how it grew based on the conversion of throngs whose lives were illuminated by those Spirit led individuals who walked in Christ and how they loved one another. I think we who are serious about our journeys home to our LORD must consider that daily and ask ourselves how our own journeys are seen by others. Do they see us as loving? Do they see us as joyful? Do they wonder about the source of our peace? Do they want to come closer to find out about it themselves?

And what about us who consider ourselves people of faith? What goodness does the LORD wish to give to us that we are passing on because we don’t think we’d like it or we don’t want to try it? Is it extended prayer? Is it scripture study? Is it service to our sisters and brothers? Are we willing to set down our uninformed preferences and open ourselves more fully to the Spirit’s guidance?

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.