REAL

Real stuff is so cool. This past week at //epidemic we just had a few kids because the weather was bad on Sunday Morning. Anyways, I just kind of struck up some conversations and let them rum with some stuff, and next thing you know we stripped away all barriers and these kids were having real honest conversation. Kids talking and being honest about what kind of things they have done and what kind of things they see their peers do and where they draw the line and why they draw that line. Kids were actually being honest with their youth pastor with no shame about times they drank and did other stupid things. And it was so cool, the more I and the others didn't condemn and just listened, the deeper they went and the more honest they all got.
It was so awesome foe me because I have rarely had experiences like that. For some reason people have always had inhibitions about being open and shameless with me. Kids, especially, always seemed to hold back like they were afraid of what I would think or say to them and about them. In all honesty I guess that was all on me. I mean, I always said I was non-judgemental and I always felt like I was understanding and non-condemning, but there must have been something that was saying otherwise to the people that I talked with if they were afraid to be honest with me. Or, actually, now that I think about it, maybe it was because i always worked at churches that had a culture of hypocrisy and condemnation, and no matter how open or understanding I was as long as I was in the setting of those churches, that culture superseeded myself. Whatever the reason, all I know is that I didn't have it then and i do have it now and I like it alot!
All of us should strive to experince such freedom and honesty and openness in our conversations and relationships with others. We should try to develop and be a part of an atmosphere of honesty and acceptance. I ahve truly learned that people love when other people are REAL, but people will only be real when they know that their real self is going to be more than adequate for the person that they are interacting with. It is just so awesome to be apart of a community of people where this is a reality and not just an ideal, as it was in previous experiences.