RELATIONSHIP DISAPPOINTMENTS

CHRIST IN WINTER: Reflections on Faith from a Place of Winter for the Years of Winter… ©

We’ve all had the sad and sorrowful experience of someone we care about walking away because we didn’t meet their expectations. Nadia Bolz-Weber, the founder and pastor of the [ELCA, Lutheran] House for All Sinners & Saints in Denver explains what she says to prospective church members about this:

“This community will disappoint them. It’s not a matter of when, not if. We will let them down or I’ll say something stupid and hurt their feelings. I then invite them on this side of their inevitable disappointment to decide if they’ll stick around after it happens. If they choose to leave when we don’t meet their expectations, they won’t get to see how the grace of God can come in and fill the holes left by our community’s failure, and that’s just too beautiful and real to miss.” Nadia Bolz-Weber, Pastrix [Jericho Books, 2013] pp 54-5.

A good thing to remember, on a Sunday morning as we go to church… or as we don’t go…

John Robert McFarland

johnrobertmcfarland@gmail.com

The “place of winter” mentioned in the title line is Iron Mountain, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula [The UP], where life is defined by winter even in the summer! [This phrase is explained in the post for March 20, 2014.]

I used to keep a careful index of all the things I told in this blog so that I would not repeat. That has become unwieldy. Now I just trust to… what’s it called… oh, yes, memory. Sorry about repeats.

I have also started an author blog, about writing, in preparation for the publication, by Black Opal Books, of my novel, VETS, about four handicapped and homeless Iraqistan veterans who are accused of murdering a VA doctor, in 2015. http://johnrobertmcfarland-author.blogspot.com/

I tweet as yooper1721.