This is a hefty, well constructed footbridge. It cracks me up...the creek it goes over is small and easily gotten around. I have no idea why it's here and so expensively constructed compared to the closed up and boarded vacant retail buildings surrounding it.Anyway, here's another thing I'm noticing. God and Jesus are main topics of conversation. Like the grocery store clerk who invited me to her church. People are just as likely to talk about how Jesus figures prominently in their life, or how the hand of God is working in them, as they are to talk about horses, cows, and the weather.
It's something you don't hear up north. Religion and the celestial aspects of life are kept under wraps, and talking about them up there will likely get you some funny looks and people slowly edging away. If you do hear a conversation outside of church, it's probably a whispered one. Here, it's the opposite. At a consignment antique store last weekend, I heard the proprietor and a farmer talking happily about how Jesus was working in his grandfather's life and also helped the farmer after his grandfather passed away. The store owner was agreeing, and chipped in with her own story. Their tone was confident, excited, and joyful.
Jesus is here, and 'round these parts, He lives in the hearts and minds and lives of the people who embrace Him. And if you don't, you are invited to.
7 comments:
"Jesus IS Here"..and I'm delighted you are having such a warm and wonderful interaction with people who share their Faith so freely! There is truly something "special" to be found in "The Quiet Life" you have chosen, Elizabeth!!
Trust in the Lord with all your Heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all you ways acknowledge him, and He will make straight your paths.
I am enjoying settling in and learning a new culture, meeting these warm and receptive people, and being an active patron at the library and in town.
I appreciate your kind words very much!
The question I was thinking in my head as soon as I started reading this entry was "How would I be treated?" As an atheist, I often deal with people who condemn me once they learn I'm not in the fold. It's glad to hear there are places that can be steeped in religion but still open to people whose beliefs disagree with their own.
I've only been here a few weeks so I don't know, or presume to know, the culture and tensions of clashing philosophies. Time will tell. I am hopeful...
Christie, anytime you meet someone who gives you a hard time- just pray to God that they won't be so narrow minded. Maybe that will help.
Or, as the independent filmmaker Bu~nel said, "Thank God I am an atheist"
I like the bumper sticker:
Jesus is Coming...
Look Busy.
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