I met my Truth Living group today. Most of them seemed rather quiet and shy at first, but once we got talking, I sensed deep conviction in them that was truly inspiring. There was a lady, who though avoided eye contact most of the time, spoke sincerely of her purpose was and how she was doing it. Never shying away from responsibility and remembering to be a good testimony to her parents. I was truly encouraged.
And again 1 Samuel 16:7 rang out to me, the verse we always think we understand but never really the fullness of it: “the Lord looks at the heart.” It reminded me of of my own superficiality. How I spend way too much time with impression management, rather than heart management. I was reminded of how unique and special God has made each of us, and to stop my natural tendency to put people into boxes.
It’s so important to me to keep meeting people different from me, and from all walks of life. It’s a big fear for me now to get too used to any social construct. Sometimes I wonder if being in SMU has made me a more superficial person. Because whenever I meet people outside of this system, when all the appearances and talk are put aside, I am forced to remember what is truly important in life. I am grateful for SMU in a great number of ways, but sometimes it bothers me because being in it too long makes one start to think that you have to be a certain type of person in order to “succeed”, whatever that may mean, and fixed ideas of what gives a person value.
That’s why I’m grateful for my job, because it caters to this need: I will be having to meet and work with people from a variety of backgrounds; never allowing me to feel either superior or inferior, among constantly overlapping social constructs- but just what God made me to be.
