(No, it's not a mistake. We read the same lesson today as we did Yesterday. In fact, if you look ahead, you see we will be on these Bible verses for the whole week. I guess they're important.)
Today we approach the call of Abram from the viewpoint of looking at our comfort zones. God called him and Sarai to leave their country in trust of Him to a promised better life. We are asked to think about how our avoidance of leaving our comfort zone sometimes can keep us from following God. Our lesson also talks about our travels as pilgrims contrasting them to travels as tourists.
I thought about a business trip I took several years ago to The Netherlands. It's my only experience traveling to a non-English speaking country. I was definitely a tourist - well a business tourist - for most of the trip. I traveled with my boss and guides or colleagues met us and the entire trip was conducted in English. But I took one vacation day in the middle of the week to go into Amsterdam (no not for THAT) and I struck out on my own. Our host just told me to walk 10 blocks in a certain direction and I would find the train station. So I took off, and for the walk to the train station during the business day (the town was empty), it was just like taking a walk in a very clean American neighborhood.
When I got to the station, however, I realized that all the signs were in Dutch. I was now lost. After a few minutes I swallowed hard, and approached a person asking a question, but they shook their head as they didn't understand English. I had to do that 2 or 3 times and each time, I was less willing to stick my neck out. Finally I approached an older couple and once they figured out I wanted to go to Amsterdam, they told me "two train" and stayed with me until the second train came along, and we were able to share random thoughts along the train ride as best we could. It was really rewarding to chat with local people who could point out things along the way.
While reading the lesson, I reflected if I needed to go to a foreign country to experience this feeling of being out of place and I remembered that I'm reading "Queen Bees and Wannabes" by Rosalind Wiseman. (I figure if I'm responsible for caring for so many teenage girls, I should know at least something about their daily experiences.) This book describes the jungle that modern school life is for many kids but for girls especially, with constantly changing "rankings" within groups and the crushing pressure to conform at all levels. She describes a typical "cafeteria moment" when a girl comes off a lunch line and has to choose where to sit. You evidently are not always welcome at every table. Of course similar feelings face us from time to time in the adult world as well. We always try to sit with people we're comfortable with.
But as this reading points out, God sometimes calls us away from our comfort zones. It's hard to do, but as I found out on the train to Amsterdam, it can be rewarding.
I wonder how this applies to the high school cafeteria?
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