I try to capture all of my interactions with religion here on Deep Thoughts. I find it therapeutic. Take yesterday when I had a late breakfast with my wife. We sat in the restaurant’s covered patio. It was hot, humid and uncomfortable, but it was the best we could do as the restaurant was crowded. The patio can seat 18 to 20 people. We were 17 and 18. It was tight, and noisy.
I am uncomfortable in crowds. Noisy crowds make me crazy. There was a party of 10 to my right. The kids were yelling. The adults yelled louder when talking to each other. It was crazy. The family was acting as if they were in their own home. They did not care about anything other than their own needs. My wife and I did not exist to them which was a good thing because they were the worst kind of church people. The kind that talks about their religion as if it were all that mattered in life. I’ll paraphrase the worst bit, but first you must put yourself in the right frame of mind. Think grandma yelling to be heard on a cell phone.
This man I know through church had a pain in his side that a doctor could not fix. My friend Sue and I laid hands on him and prayed for healing, and he was healed. It was a miracle. He has two brothers that need healing. They have cancer. He’s going to bring them by for a healing session. I love it when the lord works through me.
This was followed by another woman calmly explaining that her friend must not be a Christian because he stopped going to their church. Of course this story was told with all sorts of inane details that justified her position. You know… he’s been watching Oprah and all.
Near the end, with three kids dancing and screaming around my wife’s chair, the party stood to leave. The mother of the three young monsters spoke to them for the first time as she herded them away. My wife and I had kept our heads down the whole time. There was no eye contact. We did our best to ignore them out of fear they would talk to us. As peace descended on our little corner of the restaurant, I noticed they left no tip. It figures really, why tip when you eat at your own house?