Thursday, June 7, 2012

Getting 'Got'


Yes, you read the title correct.

With all my perfect English glory,
I am referring to this post
as getting 'got.'

I don't like to be 'got.'

Especially when it is from ignorant people who like to judge others based on their opinions on what is right.

Recently I got 'got.'

In other words....

I was cornered.

Out of the blew,
a stranger started throwing out harsh questions referring to my husband's and my decision about moving to New Orleans for him to attend Seminary. To be quite honest she was very rude. I will try my best to answer anyone's questions, but sometimes it is hard to respond with kindness while someone is pointing their fingers and showing all kinds of attitude. 

She was asking those really, REALLY hard to answer questions that, admittedly,
I too have asked myself before.

Some of her questions were:

Really, why do you have to go to seminary to be a preacher?
Preachers shouldn't have to be taught to preach. They shouldn't have to have a degree just to stand up and make a speech.

(according to this individual, all preachers really do is stand up there in the pulpit, and magically open their Bible to a random page and point with their eyes closed to choose a passage. I tried to explain that Seminary is not about being taught to preach, but about learning how to study God's word. Unfortunately she went on about how she felt about Seminary with several more comments that I don't want to write about here.)


Why New Orleans? That place is terrible! Why would you ever move there just for your husband to go to school?!!

(My thoughts were: really?? like we choose New Orleans on our own! I mean come on! We DIDN'T just choose to come here. We DIDN'T just wake up one morning thinking.... hmm... let's move to Nola!
Isn't it obvious! I agree, this place is terrible and is one of the last places I would want to come live, but We are here because we BOTH have a strong calling of this is where we are SUPPOSED TO BE)


Do you think that he is going to school just so he can be some grand almighty preacher? Does he think that going to Seminary is going to make him big?

(By the time she asked this question, I just wanted to shout at her. I just wanted to really let her have it! How dare this stranger judge us so quickly! How dare she be so ignorant. How dare she diss my husband! 
But instead of getting mad, I tried to push down my frustration and answered with a simple:
I know my husband just wants to go where God tells him to be.)


Those were not the only questions she asked. Those were also not the only comments she made. I have never been cornered all by myself before about our decisions to go to Seminary, and I wish in that moment I had better answers for her. I wish that these questions didn't effect me so much, and that I wasn't so quick to be upset. People will have their opinions and people will be curious.

Ohhh Lord how my skin needs to grow thicker, and how I need to learn how to not be frustrated with people who just don't understand. I want to reach out to these people. I know this girl is not the only one who thinks such things. I know that she was just professing what she believes to be true. I want everyone to understand, but in the mean time
I really don't like to get 'got.'

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