Yesterday was a relatively mild day in comparison to some, but it was quite busy. After church, we came home and had lunch. Then we started getting ready for our Sunday Night “Meet and Greet” where people from the congregation come over and get to know us. I also started providing rides to people who wanted them, and that took up much of my afternoon, running people various places so they would have something to do.
The final preparations were a little stressful as several of the children were literally sitting watching us work or watching TV and complaining we were in their way. When asked to do something, they refused and there was no time for the meltdowns required to make them do something. However, we got it done and the night was great fun.
I really enjoy hearing other peoples “stories.” Listening to how people got to where they are in life always seems to help make sense of them. My brothers used to sing this song: I have never even seen the lyrics until just now when I googled them:
People are strange, when you're a stranger
Faces look ugly when you're alone
People seem wicked, when you're unwanted
Streets are uneven, when you're down
When you're strange- faces come out of the rain (rain, rain)
When you're strange- no one remembers your name
When you're strange, when you're strange, when you're str-ange
I’ve always thought it was a profound song, in all of it’s stupidity, because the message is that when you don’t know someone they can appear strange -- but once you understand their story and know who they are, they are no longer as strange (well, there are exceptions to this, like Cindy (just kidding girlfriend!)
At any rate, hearing people’s stories turns them from strangers to friends and telling our story also helps people to understand us a bit better. In fact, John choosing to tell his version of his own story caused some other folks to open up a lot more during “snack time” and it was great.
I got early this morning hoping to get a start on things before everyone wakes up, but John wasn’t sleeping in his bed, so when I woke him up to go to his bed he decided to get up instead. So much for a head start....
The final preparations were a little stressful as several of the children were literally sitting watching us work or watching TV and complaining we were in their way. When asked to do something, they refused and there was no time for the meltdowns required to make them do something. However, we got it done and the night was great fun.
I really enjoy hearing other peoples “stories.” Listening to how people got to where they are in life always seems to help make sense of them. My brothers used to sing this song: I have never even seen the lyrics until just now when I googled them:
People are strange, when you're a stranger
Faces look ugly when you're alone
People seem wicked, when you're unwanted
Streets are uneven, when you're down
When you're strange- faces come out of the rain (rain, rain)
When you're strange- no one remembers your name
When you're strange, when you're strange, when you're str-ange
I’ve always thought it was a profound song, in all of it’s stupidity, because the message is that when you don’t know someone they can appear strange -- but once you understand their story and know who they are, they are no longer as strange (well, there are exceptions to this, like Cindy (just kidding girlfriend!)
At any rate, hearing people’s stories turns them from strangers to friends and telling our story also helps people to understand us a bit better. In fact, John choosing to tell his version of his own story caused some other folks to open up a lot more during “snack time” and it was great.
I got early this morning hoping to get a start on things before everyone wakes up, but John wasn’t sleeping in his bed, so when I woke him up to go to his bed he decided to get up instead. So much for a head start....
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