these choices I've made...
In the course of one day, be it a day of watching street basketball with lots of family & friends, I was asked a dozen different times if I was going to a bbq Saturday night. A bbq shower actually for a good friend of John's. When Shawna's invitation came a week or so ago I noted that it was addressed to her alone. I assumed it was actually a young couple's event and dismissed it until the barrage of inquiries that grew increasingly uncomfortable as the day progressed. It might not have been so awkward if there hadn't been this surprised look on the faces of those who asked and the following dialogue about why I wasn't going. [Adding to the awkwardness was that it was being hosted by family....]
Since then I have learned that we were not invited since we didn't really know the honorees that well and it was silly to ask us to contribute to the offering they were collecting when we weren't that close. [Nice in principle...but we supplied Shawna with "her" offering for the couple anyway.]
The whole thing ended up being a bigger deal than necessary. Had I not been at Macker I wouldn't have seen any of these people who innocently assumed I'd be there. Had two of these people not been members of the hosting family it would not have even been addressed. Had I not managed to cover myself in the mire of switching churches I wouldn't have let myself begin the familiar path of second guessing the possible reasons I wasn't on the guest list.
These choices I've made. They are not so easily reconciled to the living of the consequences. Truth be told, I didn't really want to go, these things aren't usually by cup of tea. But it did feel a bit weird to realize I was sitting a neighborhood away from just about every other person in my "world" and I wasn't invited to the table.
We sat and laughed about it yesterday and I'll probably get invited to everything big or small in the years to come. I do smile at the invitation to this couple's wedding laying in front of me. I suppose I know them after all...
Since then I have learned that we were not invited since we didn't really know the honorees that well and it was silly to ask us to contribute to the offering they were collecting when we weren't that close. [Nice in principle...but we supplied Shawna with "her" offering for the couple anyway.]
The whole thing ended up being a bigger deal than necessary. Had I not been at Macker I wouldn't have seen any of these people who innocently assumed I'd be there. Had two of these people not been members of the hosting family it would not have even been addressed. Had I not managed to cover myself in the mire of switching churches I wouldn't have let myself begin the familiar path of second guessing the possible reasons I wasn't on the guest list.
These choices I've made. They are not so easily reconciled to the living of the consequences. Truth be told, I didn't really want to go, these things aren't usually by cup of tea. But it did feel a bit weird to realize I was sitting a neighborhood away from just about every other person in my "world" and I wasn't invited to the table.
We sat and laughed about it yesterday and I'll probably get invited to everything big or small in the years to come. I do smile at the invitation to this couple's wedding laying in front of me. I suppose I know them after all...
posted by ret at 10:02 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home