With laughter filling in the silence of the story, Kelly talked about how she and her mother could not be more dissimilar. Then Kelly recounted a number of social and theological differences that exist between her mother and herself--all the while chuckling about the apparent gap between them.
The story reaches its high point when Kelly realizes that for her entire life her mother has just let Kelly be Kelly. Specifically she says, "In that moment I realized that mom never tried to edit me. She just let me be me." And while that conclusion might feel very self-help-y to our ears, I was held in the depth of the statement for a few minutes as I noticed that God lets me be me. God trusts me enough to find Him and grow as I spend time in His Word.
Mom just let her daughter be who she is. She did not try to smooth out any rough edges or correct any errors in thinking or living--which were present the whole time. She just loved her child and trusted her to find her way forward with the Lord's help. It's a brave choice, but it left a mark on Kelly.
From that point on, when Kelly would visit her mom she just let mom set the pace for the entire encounter. Mom picked supper. Mom picked what to watch on TV without judgment. Mom could watch her favorite news channel right after the ballgame was complete. Mom could even pick the wine for the evening.
In that choice a tremendous amount of relational growth happened. . . it germinated.
And that got me thinking and it got me wondering. . .
I wonder, who do you know, who do you encounter, who could you care for who needs the world to stop editing them so that they can be held close to the heart of the Lord? Who needs the community, or the church, to just embrace them for who they are and help them find the Lord?
Perhaps letting God do the editing is a far better way to disciple the community? Maybe my job, our call, is just to care for them authentically and fully?
Another wonderful blog. You always get me thinking, Derek
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