Asking the question

I wrote today on the other blog allwillbewellperiod.blogspot.com about my experience going to Wheaton College for my MA in Clinical Psychology.  In large part, my Episcopal colleagues were horrified that I would do such a thing.  For some it was akin to sleeping with the enemy (an interesting expression in itself) or even taking poison.  For some it showed that my allegiance to the Episcopal Church or to my LBGTQ colleagues was in question.  It is amazing the assumptions that others make about us when we make particular choices.  Like going to an Evangelical school such as Wheaton… for example.   Some, however, see fit to ask us why we have made particular decisions.  I have found, when I do this, the answers are most often not what I have expected.  Go figure!

Consider this:

Probably all of us know the experience of having our intentions misunderstood.  What would it look like if we each took responsibility to ask the question: What did you mean by that?  Even the classic Help me understand...  then listening to the response, really listening to the response, will go a long way toward understanding.  This Lent, let us give up assumptions.  Let us ask the questions and listen to the answers.