In an effort to meet people (since I still know a total of 2 people where I live--my aunt and my uncle...and they actually don't even live in my town, only close), I went to a twenty somethings ministry last night.
I can't tell you why, but I hate this sort of thing; I always have. This particular twenty somethings group feels rather like a youth group, like I kind of assume most of them do. We sang old-school youth group songs (actually from my high school days, oddly enough) and then a pastor gave a message. The sermon series this fall: comparing faith to mountain biking.
I would really prefer to meet people organically (what does that mean, anyway, I suppose? I almost met someone at a bookstore, looking at the same book as me tonight...but chickened out.) or I would like to just find some church that I can be a part of and just meet people through that. These things are simply not happening.
I am a bit lazy, I'm realizing, when it comes to making new friends. I rather like the friends I already have, and it seems impossible that any new people could be half as great as my old friends. Also, I'm rather picky when it comes to finding a church (who knew?) I want to find someplace where people are part of a movement, something sort of revolutionary...because Jesus is.
Oh the tensions...I talked about it with my friend Megan on the phone tonight, and she had some good advice, "You might not find your soul mates," Megan paused, "but at least someone you can have coffee with once in awhile."
7 comments:
it is weird how hard it is to meet people right?? i was so excited because my next door neighbor is my age, and she has a little girl, and she's very fun and interesting and her husband is even from ecuador (what are the odds?) but then she moved away and her number doesn't even work anymore. :-( i swear we would've been the best of friends. :-( :-( it merits two more sad faces.
ps. i like your "something sort of revoutionary...because Jesus is" comment.
hey beth...you're right about that. I really only have one actual girl friend here, and a few people I met through brian. It's so hard to meet people when you're not living with them like in college. I would tell you to have patience and it will happen, but who knows! :(
sorry for the depressing nature of the comment.
i do have a few friend prospects.
Beth, I totally agree. This growing up business is rough when it comes to friend-making - especially in church. Brad and I made precisely 0 friends in our awesome church in Eden Prairie. Only a year later have we recieved a few phone calls from people there asking us to be in a small group - go figure!
After moving back to EC, I was excited about our neighbs being around the same age (and English majors, mind you), but we've merely shared bread and jelly over the fence. I suppose it's a start, but still not the same.
I think we should all move to Chicago in a few years and start our own little nucleus of friends. How about it?
thanks for the posts friends! i sort of thought it was just me. so this is encouraging. i agree with kerri, we all need to move to the same place, and then we'd have great automatic friends!
let's make it the lovely seattle area!!
Beth, I've really been wrestling with some of these same ideas. Last week I was in a meeting and someone made the observation that perhaps, as a society, we are "relationally retarded" (their words, not mine) which shocked me enough to grasp on to it. The more I chew on it the more I consider the concept valid: we've elevated "island living" to such an ideal that we have a hard time developing "organic" relationships. It has become almost counterintuitive to reach out and connect. (I liked your note about almost connecting with the person at the bookstore - I resonate with how hard that is.)
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