EARNING THE RIGHT TO BE HEARD

What a great night at the drum circle. Just loaded with all kinds of people and unique stories.

We have a friend at the drum circle who we always talk to. One night she started talking about religion. She comes from a Christian background, but does not consider herself one anymore. She is still seeking. She went on about how religion is bad and that it causes all sorts of bad things in the world. In my experience, this is a common statement that people make.  You would think that this girl wanted nothing to do with God, but then she went on to say that seeking God is what she wants to be about. She wants to go to school and study theology. She wants to start a group that discusses God. This coming from a girl who says religion is bad.

She went on to say that she desires to understand each others viewpoints about God and to take interest in each other for the purpose of creating an open dialog about God. She went on to explain that this will help us not be so divided because most people are so unwilling to listen to each other, which creates walls and makes it next to impossible to have dialog. This girl has a willingness to listen and understand, and I think this is great!

I read a quote a few days ago that I thought had great truth to it.

“Seek first to understand, then to be understood” Stephen R. Covey 

I believe whether we admit it or not, that it is in all of us to seek the truth. It’s in all of us to seek God. God would of course create us this way. One of the main complaints I hear against Christians is that we are very close-minded and that there is no room for discussion outside of our thinking. I hear this all the time.

I believe there is a difference between sticking with truth (and you should as a Christian) and not being willing to listen to other point of views. I believe we need to earn the right to be heard. When I listen and learn, there is much more of an open door. When I don’t have that openness, I am usually cut off. We shouldn’t feel good about speaking truth at all cost when the result is being cut off. I know I have justified this in the past. I said to myself, “well I spoke the truth and that’s all that counts”. No, I was ignorant. I was not loving. And most of the time, I didn’t take into account that there was another culture or worldview involved, and it was next to impossible for that person to even understand what I was saying. So therefore, I actually never spoke the truth to that person.

This girl, like so many I run into, wants to seek God. This girl loves to seek God. She loves to seek truth. There is a great hunger for God out there.

Check out the pics and video below. I have always wanted to wear a sarong in public. What better place than at a drum circle. I thought it was a big deal but nobody really cared because most people here dress pretty funky. I was just trying to fit in:)

You’ll like the video. It’s not everyday that you see someone swallowing fire and spitting it back out.

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NOTE: CLICK ON PICTURES TO ENLARGE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE5tNwkJmDE