First Game Night

An assortment of new families have joined our church, and we’ve jumped in to the life of the congregation. Eddie and Lindyne had the idea for a game night, and last night we had the first one. It had been such a full day for our family, most of us only lasted 2 hours, except for Yessa. She stayed to party with “I” and “T” until after 9:30.

Buds, Yessa, Monkey, and I spent our time playing Pictionary with an ever-increasing group of people. Rev. Rachel turned out to be a fantastic guesser, and I was so thankful for the generous spirit of all the adults who played. The three 11 and unders who played proved themselves to be just as adept at drawing, if not more so, than all the adults. We cherry-picked easier words quite frequently, but no one minded. It was a great feeling of connection.

On a side note about spiritual and empathy growth: Joining a new church and making new friends has caused me to confront some inner-prejudices that I didn’t have to bring to light in NoVa. Talking to people of a different socio-economic level used to seem difficult, until you do it a few times and receive that loving reminder from the universe that people are people.

Some people are jerks…most people aren’t. Income doesn’t change that.

In addition, first-impressions are so fraught with unknown prejudice as to render them largely worthless. Though I’m savvy enough not to voice my prejudices, I am willing to acknowledge them to myself, and when those darker thoughts are brought out into the light, they seldom hold up.

Several people at church, once I’ve gotten to learn their stories, have proven to be just as amazing as all the other people I’ve met in my life.

A Southern accent does not equate to lesser intelligence.

And finally, everyone has hopes and dreams. Some people are willing to share them, some people aren’t. The unspoken dreams are just as valued and valuable.

The universe continues to offer up so many lessons.