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Saturday, October 06, 2007

Are You In or Out?
By webmaster @ 7:00 AM :: 264 Views :: 3 Comments :: Nina Frost

This morning, a Bible verse jumped out at me in a way it had not before, despite the fact I have seen these words often. That is often the case with familiar text: suddenly it dangles a thread in the middle of your day and if you pull at the invitation, you can go to unexpected places.

The verse was from the Gospel of Mark, chapter 6, verses 10-11. Jesus is giving his disciples encouragement and instruction before they leave to spread the word in other towns. He says:

"Where you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. And if any place will not receive you and they refuse to hear you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet for a testimony against them."

I have often used the phrase, "shake the dust…" in conversations with clients, or with a clinging part of me that just doesn't know when to leave, to stop, to turn around, to stop wasting energy. We long to be received - by our work, our church, our loved ones, our own futures. Distinguishing where we are heard and truly seen, and by whom - and where we are not, and never will be - is crucial, ongoing work.

But the words I had never seen before were: "Where you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place." What? If I haven't physically left yet, aren't I still in the house? Not always!

This is the flip side of knowing when to leave. For me, this is a subtle reminder that many times we check out of a situation before we actually leave. Jesus' words are so simple, direct, concrete - and difficult: Once you are in something, truly be there, fully, until you leave. No partial attention. No thinking of what you will say while the other person is still talking. No half-in, half-out of a relationship. No looking for the exit, when the person you are with is looking for you to truly be with them.

This is a call to be radically present; to give your yes fully, and to be attuned to what and who are around you. Together with "shake the dust," these admonitions are two potent bits of advice that can keep us grounded both in reality and in God's call for our lives.

Without judgment or self-criticism, do a scan of your current commitments, be they personal or professional. Where are you truly received? Are there places or people you need to move on from? And… are there places or people where you need to learn to "stay," to truly be with, versus straddling an in/out threshold? Think about the cost and the promise of making a move - in either direction. Think of God's promise of new life.

Comments

By Bflood27 @ Sunday, October 07, 2007 11:19 AM

Thank you so much for this Nina. I love the thought of not leaving a place until you leave. So often we rush through life so fast....we don't settle. We have all had the feeling of running around the city running errands, having fun etc, so much to the point where we don't know if we are going or coming. This scripture to me warns us to slow down, simmer in the day...let things sit in our soul before we jump up to leave. Like the end of a great movie or play, I am always suprised by the people who instantly jump from their seat to leave before the last note is sung or the screen fades to black-all to "beat" traffic. The car can wait. Traffic will be the same if you wait 5 seconds to let your brain digest the intellectual food it has just recieved.
Thanks for this post!

By MattMochary @ Monday, October 08, 2007 11:19 AM

This is such wonderful advice. Thank you. I seem to add commitments to my life over time until I have no time to do anything well, and certainly not enjoy them. Then a small crisis ensues, and I am forced to evaluate all my commitments and shed all those that aren't necessary or no longer give me joy. It is an emotional "spring cleaning". And after I do it, my days become much more relaxed, and filled with satisfaction. Then inevitably, after several months or years, I will slowly take on more commitments. Hopefully, I have learned my lesson and won't overcommit. But I doubt it. My guess is that I still have a few more spring cleanings in my future ...

By Ceca @ Monday, October 08, 2007 4:28 PM

Nina, your post got me right in the gut and the heart. I'm going through a challenging time right now and these ideas are striking a chord in me that I think it going to resonate for quite a while. I am staying but thinking of when I'll be leaving at the same time! Does that make any sense? It reminds me a little bit of the lyrics from the song by "The Clash", "Should I Stay or Should I go".

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