Isn’t it funny how it can be easier to talk to people we don’t know that well about these topics? Maybe it’s because we value the opinion of people we love so much more than those we don’t even know, and we are afraid to change anything we do or say in front of them for fear of what they will think.

So I talked to two girls who work at the gym on the way out. I see them in there each time I go so they know my face and that I’m friendly. So today I said-can I ask you a random question? She goes sure-do you believe in God? She goes ha that is random. She answered yes, and I asked why, she said something along the lines of there has to be something. Then I asked the other girl-she said no, I asked her why as well, she said because there is no proof. Opposite answers there!

They went on to ask why I asked-I just said that I liked asking that question-which I do! It’s just been a while since I’ve asked it! Maybe that will spark conversation between the two of them? Maybe they will have more questions for me when I see them again?

Jim, yes, I see how you probably intended this to be more of talking with people you already know-but I love to ask rando’s questions too! I’ll try to talk to my friend’s about God more as well.

I do have to say that it felt good to ask those two that question. I hope this can stir something within my own soul. We shall see.

Journey well!

Cory

But why is this hard to do? Why is it so hard to talk to other people about God? What prevents us from doing it?

It’s hard because of the “what if” factor. What if this person isn’t Christian? I remember not too many years ago being in question about God’s existence. If anyone tried to even talk to me about God back then, I would have heard a bunch of jibberish. Hearing things like, “I’m saved through Jesus Christ” and “God is all around us” and “Could you pray for me about this?” sounds absolutely insane if you don’t believe or never have believed. My boyfriend is an atheist and we have talked about religion quite often. I am also often at a loss for words in these situations. What do I say when he asks me what the “Christian” opinion is on a matter or what “Christians” do in church. It’s hard to answer questions. . . because to him, it all sounds insane. It’s something he doesn’t agree with. And not in a disrespectful way; he’s actually really just curious when he asks those questions. We disagree on the topic of religion, but we are respectful of each other’s views. I just have this fear. Fear of being judged.

We even had a “disagreement” (I say this instead of argument because we don’t really fight or argue, we just disagree and talk about things. . .) kind of about religion, but not about the beliefs themselves, but about how defensive we can both get in regards to our opinions. He told me that he could never lose respect for me because of my faith.

I cried. Because that means so much. It should have made me realize that this assignment shouldn’t be difficult. We shouldn’t be afraid to be the salt and flavor this world. We should be able to talk freely about our faith and our relationship with God and not feel judged. Anyone that is going to judge us for our beliefs is not worth getting discouraged.

An atheist opened up my eyes to this. Maybe this is one reason talking about God to someone other than our Christian friends/family/acquaintances is important. It gives us a different perspective. Their questions make us think about the answers. We are forced to turn to Scripture or mentors for help in answering the tough ones. We are forced to grow through their doubt. . . or at least that has been my experience.

So what do we have to lose?

So this week I was thinking about what Jim asked us, and what God asks us to do-talk about Him. Easy right? I’ve talked to plenty of rando’s before about God-it’s not that hard. But this time things are different. I find my heart really isn’t in it much with God-how am I going to talk to someone about how great and awesome He is if my full heart is not with it?

That was my excuse for most of the week-my heart isn’t in it-why am I going to do something that doesn’t feel right anymore? Then I thought-well maybe it would be a good thing to ask someone if they believe in God-or what not. Could that get my own fire going? Quite possible.

I was lifting at the gym today, as I went in, I gave my hokie passport to the girl at the desk to check-in. I usually make some small talk. As I went in I was thinking-well this would be a great opportunity to ask her what she thought about God. So that was the plan-on the way out-ask her if I could ask her a random question. But alas-she was talking with another girl that worked there-they were having what seemed to be an serious convo so I didn’t want to intruded. Blah. Failure. But tomorrow is another chance.

Hopefully this is the spark that can get me going. Who knows.

Journey well.

Cory

It certainly wouldn’t be right of me to blame it all on my upbringing though. I think I’ve spent too much time just listening while growing up in the church and not enough time looking at and deciding for myself what I believe. This being the case, I’ve always been kind of afraid to talk to people about my faith because I’m afraid that they’ll ask me a question that I haven’t figured out the answer to yet.

Given my apprehension, I decided this week to try talking to someone who I knew was Christian, but who I’ve never really spoken to about any Christian topics before – my Mom.

Despite riding to church in the same car together for 18 years, my parents and I have hardly ever talked about our faith (with the exception of praying before meals) and I figure now is as good a time as any to start.

I talked a little about how I don’t really know about what God is directly working to do in my life. I believe that most of the interaction God and I have together right now is mostly just him reminding me that he’s still here and that he’s going to keep hanging around. I most often hear God speaking to me through nature – basically through the other 99.9% of his creation. Whether it’s looking up at the impeccably clear night sky in Kenya or having a staring contest with one of the fearless squirrels of Blacksburg, I feel like it’s moments like these where God is just saying “Hey.” It makes me smile.

I think those little reminders of God’s presence in my life are what I need most right now. It’s easy (at least, it is for me) to get complacent in the comfortable setting of home/Virgina Tech and I find myself all too often walking to church on Sunday morning and realizing how much my relationship with and fervor for God can subside over just a few days.

So I think that God is working in my life right now just to make sure I remember that he’s still a part of my life and of all our lives.

The conversation with my mom went pretty well. Maybe it didn’t last as long as I hoped it would, but it’s opened the door to a conversation that I hope to continue having with my parents. I feel like this week was the first step in preparing myself to be the salt of the earth that I’m called to be, and I’m really grateful for that.