I have been re-learning how to identify colours. No I have not had some bizarre loss of vision, I have just been woefully negligent of understanding colours from a Thomas the Train crazy 2 year old perspective. I have had to relearn, blue is Thomas, brown is Toby, green is Percy and so on. It took me a little while to get the colours straight. I still have to keep asking about black, white and red, I am not sure about who they are. This is very challenging for me particularly since I have yet to see an episode of Thomas and Friends. Clearly I have been uneducated in the ways of the little steam engine. I am not in the inner circle of knowledge or understanding. My grandson says “Gamma (the R eludes him) it’s a Percy!” as if I am greatly deficient and should know better by now, it is a little unnerving and amusing at the same time. One day I am sure I will get it right.
How like learning the lingo of Christians. I remember having to enter this learning curve of comprehension of terms. No longer did I understand what I had always thought I understood. Words like Christian, redemption, sanctification, justification, atonement, saint and host all suddenly had entirely new meanings. A few times I got myself into pretty touchy situations for not getting the lingo right. Then, as if it wasn’t a big enough challenge learning the lingo, I later had to un-learn it, or at least express it differently with different groups of people. It turns out that I needed the Christian language to understand the basic teachings, but needed regular language to be able to communicate Christianity in the real world. Mind boggling. I live in two different paradigms, one unique and special but exclusive, the other is common but wanting a refreshing realignment. May I ever live in the tension with laughter, a willingness to learn and yet having a full grasp on the reality around me so that I stay comprehensible and engaged beyond the inner circle.
How like learning the lingo of Christians. I remember having to enter this learning curve of comprehension of terms. No longer did I understand what I had always thought I understood. Words like Christian, redemption, sanctification, justification, atonement, saint and host all suddenly had entirely new meanings. A few times I got myself into pretty touchy situations for not getting the lingo right. Then, as if it wasn’t a big enough challenge learning the lingo, I later had to un-learn it, or at least express it differently with different groups of people. It turns out that I needed the Christian language to understand the basic teachings, but needed regular language to be able to communicate Christianity in the real world. Mind boggling. I live in two different paradigms, one unique and special but exclusive, the other is common but wanting a refreshing realignment. May I ever live in the tension with laughter, a willingness to learn and yet having a full grasp on the reality around me so that I stay comprehensible and engaged beyond the inner circle.
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