I've started watching The Last Station. I've been curious about it a while. I won't finish it tonight. The thing that reaches me the most in it (I'm 50 minutes in) is the struggle by each of the characters to be seen and loved as they are in conflict with the pressure to live by a set of rules that some believe will allow all people to be seen as they are.
This morning, sitting at church, I became aware of where I'm standing in my heart's journey, of some of the crossroads that meet on this portion of the path and of some portions of the road that I'd lost track of. One of the qualities I noticed in how the community interacted this morning was a sincere recognition of one another, not with niceties, but with compassion. Those who blessed others the most were also those who were the least guarded... they also seemed to be the most loved. It gave me another picture of how we are least safe when we are the most defensive/protective. The movie offers a perspective of that, too.
Listening to the 8th graders giving statements of faith, also reminded me that there are more than two choices for where I live out my life and my faith... the choice is not either in a "christian" church or out on my own in the world. I needed the reminder that life is not well-lived in categories and margins... that the strongest cloth has the same thread as it's base, with only the top threads altering to create the patterns.
