Come Out — Wherever You Are
Last week I blogged about the importance of face-to-face conversations with others. We need others in our lives to fully engage in meaningful times of sharing and caring for each other.
Today, not only can we meet friends and acquaintances for lunch or dinner to get to know them better, we can also have face-to-face conversations by facetiming on our phones or Zoom meetings on our computers. Close friends or family members will often Facetime me to show me something or to simply have a face-to-face conversation. It’s a great way to close the distance between us.
But I’ll be honest with you — it often catches me off-guard because I’m still in my jammies and my hair and make-up aren’t up to up-close-and-personal interactions. As a matter of fact – I wouldn’t want you to see me right now! Yikes!
I get it. One of the things I like most about our phones and text messaging plus email is that we DON’T see each other. We can hide behind our electronics without concern for how we look. And, we can get to the point of our conversation faster. But I’ve refused to make that the only way I communicate with others. I know we need face-to-face conversations.
Thursday nights here at Everleigh (where we live) are called “Mix & Mingle” where we enjoy a delicious meal and lots of themed décor and celebrations. Last Thursday was “Movie Stars Night”. That meant we were to come in the costume of a movie star. You can see in this photo that Carl came as ELF. I came as Shirley Temple in Heidi and our dear friend Lee came as Tom Cruise in Top Gun. Lee won a $50 gift card by the most crowd applause for his character.
And, that night we celebrated many kind, caring and all-in friends with whom we enjoy having face-to-face encounters. Many people in our community prefer staying to themselves — not taking the opportunity to get to know others. They enjoy their quiet place and aren’t into socializing. Different strokes for different folks.
But, honestly, it’s time to step out of the “unseen” and be seen. If we were like God – we would love and care for our “neighbors” – not based on whether we saw them and sized them up based on their outward appearance, but on their hearts.
God’s love is the same for all people regardless of race, gender, or stature. “I do not look at your outward appearance or worldly achievements, I only see your spirit and your heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7) “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)
Carl, Lee, and I not only socialize here, but on Tuesday nights we attend a House Church where over 50 to 75 people come together for a delicious meal, sing praises to God and hear life-changing testimonies. We join with others face-to-face to love, encourage and support each other.
Our personal commitment is NOT to be a hermit. We refuse to stay behind closed doors. We plan on loving ourselves so much that we WILL get out and about so that Jesus in us rubs off on others. When we do that, we’re “loving our neighbor as we love ourselves.” (Matthew 22:39)
So, come out, come out wherever you are and share the love of Jesus with others. I promise you’ll be glad you did!!