somewhat petty confessions

i have a couple things i want to confess. none are really a big deal, one less of a deal than the other.

first, have you noticed that the older you get (and, therefore, presumably wider in the hips) the less you care about bending over in the company of others? i mean, when i was younger, i would never bend over for any reason if i was within sight, or potential sight, of another human being. i would squat or kneel. i wasn't going to stick my rear end in the air. but recently, i've noticed, that people bend over. when gardening, when wiping a child's nose, when doing several things that require bending over, they just don't care if they're cheapening the local view. i've caught my own derriere in the air a time or two as well. my standards have slipped from "avoiding being in the sight of any human at all" to more of a "if you don't personally know them and if it's for a justifiable reason then it's ok" (like gardening.)

i must work on this. no one wants to see another's big butt all spread out. and besides, squatting is good for you (it really is!)

my second confession is a bit bigger of a deal. befriending the people who are really hard to befriend. you know the kind... they're people who are somehow socially awkward to begin with, you don't really have anything in common with them, and worst of all, they're super clingy. yet, as a christian, i'm called to love and be kind to everyone. and that means i can't, in clear conscience, ignore these people. though i try. these people have popped up throughout my life, starting in kindergarten. i'm pretty sure shannon was sexually abused as a young child. but i didn't know when we were 5. and by time it was obvious when our paths crossed again in 6th grade, no way was i going to be her friend. she recently became a FB stalker of me (and several other people) always trying to chat with me the moment i logged in. there's a couple other people from college who are like this too.

but most recently i met someone new. he fits all these stereotypes and i know that he's been shoved to the fringes of society for most of his life. yet, he's one of those people that doesn't seem to notice he's been marginalized. these people seem to think they're the life of the party....(content edited and deleted)...unlike jared, i am not a yes-man. i have no problem telling people no and could stand to give an unselfish yes a little more often. i'm really bad about liking who i like and not liking who i don't like and then fiercely adhering to that opinion. i don't judge people quickly, i try to take my time and give them a full chance. but these lack-of-social-skills, awkward, smelly, whatever people..i have trouble with them.

so i'm going to do my best. because Jesus told me to. it's not the easy stuff that is a sacrifice. i'm sure Jesus would've preferred hanging out more with mary, martha and lazarus and the disciples and a little less with the pharisees and lepers and prostitutes. but He called us to be better. to befriend the friendless. so here i go. not all-in, BFFs yet, but saying yes to someone who needs help, speaking to him when i see him. just common courtesy that he probably hasn't been given growing up.

say a prayer for me! and smack my butt if you ever see it sticking shamelessly up in the air!