Waiting to Hatch

So tonight I went downtown for some much needed Spill the Beans with some of the most fun and hilarious people I know (3 of the residents of F206). And let me just say, that ice cream really does fix problems, even if it just temporary. Filled with jay-walking and awkwardness, the majority of the evening was really fun. We discovered that even with 4 napkins spread over my lap, I can still manage to get ice cream all over my pants. On our way back to the car we were informed about a protest/rally (neither of those are quite the best words to describe) of people holding signs saying things like, "Repent!" and the "Wages of sin is death!" and other signs that were very condemning. They were standing on one side of the street and a lot of other people were watching them from across the street. There was a lot of shouting going on as well. We watched two ladies try and challenge these preachers (they weren't all preachers, but at this hour I'm not sure what word to use that would be appropriate) by holding hands and screaming, "I love this woman!" I almost don't want to describe the scene with too much detail because it was almost sickening watching people divided by a street and signs and yell at each other. And people just kept getting either angry or were mocking. I mean, nothing bad was going to happen, there were police present and no signs that violence would break out, but we saw cars drive by with middle fingers sticking out and some pretty heated discussions going on. I guess I'm writing this just to say that it was a big reminder of how important it is to really love people. Not to shout half a Bible verse at them, or point out their flaws that we feel are holding them back from God, but love them how they are. Accountability is important, but judgement is not something that I need to put into practice, especially considering that I'm a screw-up too! It just kind of broke my heart to see so much division and desire to "win." At some point, some people convinced the police to tell the evangelical (still not quite sure what word to use) to move and they started shouting back across the street excitedly, "They're leaving! We got them to leave!" like the whole thing was a game or competition. We really just wanted to go around hugging everyone to try and create some love in the atmosphere. I guess my main point, which I'm trying to say delicately to make sure I don't accidentally say anything I don't mean to (I have a problem with that) , is love people. Because God loves you and me and them and everyone. So yea. Love, because in my simple mind, things seem to work better that way and it seems like that's how God intended things.

posted by Shari @ 8:56 PM