My Latest Failure/ Challenge
We got new neighbors. I like them a lot. It's a couple with a new baby- about 14 weeks old. We've had them over once for dinner and we are going over there this weekend. One of the really cool thing about them is that they are from Germany.
They speak English, but they are still learning. One day while I was having coffee and a wonderful apple cake thing that she made at their house, she and I were getting to know one another. I tried to explain that my husband was a pastor. She didn't know what that was. Finally she said, "oh like a priest?" Ok, sure, like a priest. Then she wanted to know what our beliefs were. Here comes the big failure part. I tried to explain it to her. I failed. The best I could get across was that we were not Catholic, or Baptist or Lutheran.
In Germany they have Catholic. That's it. So, I said we are not Catholic. Then she commented on how many churches there are in America and they are all different. She mentioned that in Germany she lived near the church where Luther nailed his accusations to the church doors. That's cool- by the way, we have Lutherans here, we are not one of those. Then she mentions Baptist (she saw some of those churches around). We aren't that either.
I wanted to kick myself! Here I am, a Pastor's Wife for crying out loud and all I could come up with are ridiculous words like Charismatic, Pentecostal, Spirit Filled, etc. Those words mean nothing to anyone outside of the church world. She even got out her little electronic language- helper thingy. That didn't help. I was completely drawing a blank. I finally tried to just say that we follow Jesus. "Yes, but everyone says that." I sat in dumbfounded silence. Well, you got me there, most everyone DOES say that.
I mean, here I am the one time in my life someone with a pretty blank slate actually asks me what my beliefs are (rather than coming with their own preconceived notions of Pastors and their wives) and I totally blow it! Why couldn't I have just said that I believe in Jesus, that he died for my sins and that I believe the Holy Spirit lives inside of me. Maybe that would have even been too complicated. Well, my friends, I am turning this failure into a challenge. We are developing a friendship with these people and I am refusing to believe that I have missed my chance here with this woman! I have/ will be racking my brain and praying about how to simplify yet not dumb or water down my beliefs. They are very interested so I'm sure it will come up again!
Today I am having some moms from our street over. There will be 4 of us there and two are foreigners who don't speak English as their first language. One is from Japan and the other, of course, is from Germany. Hopefully we can get past our language barriers and just enjoy each others company as moms!
Sheryl Bane
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Reader Comments (9)
God will give you another opportunity you can count on that. Actions speak louder than words.
Hope that your get together went well with your new lady friends!!