Once upon a time, I lived in a magical place. Called Grand Rapids, MI. I'm obsessed. I have zero shame about admitting this. Once a week, I would go to my favorite bakery (conveniently located on the edge of the ghetto, so as a teen it was really win-win for my parents and I. I felt rebellious by going to the location, while my parents were satisfied by the fact that their daughter thought going to a bakery was rebellious). Every time, I drove past the same church and saw the same sign "PRAYER TIME. TUESDAYS. 10 AM." So finally, one day, I was like, why not?
Keep in mind, I'm Catholic. My idea of prayer time is that we would enter the sanctuary quietly, kneel, pray as long as needed and then leave. I thought it would just be an excuse to go see the inside of another of Grand Rapids' beautiful, over-looked churches. Boy was I surprised.
It was everything you would imagine an African-American Baptist church prayer circle to be. They raised their hands. Interjected whenever their heart moved them to. And they called me "Sister H***." They were some of the nicest, genuine people I've ever met. And their sincere prayers opened my eyes to the types of things going on in Grand Rapids that I had no idea about.
It made me want to learn more. To dig deeper, and go deeper. I've always had a struggle with that. I want to go to the ghetto, I want to go to the poor, I want to go in the middle of it all. I want to observe and watch and see what their life is like. See how their kids grow up. See success stories. See failures. And in that way, be moved to action. But...then reality hits. I am a SWF. In reality, I shouldn't do any of those things because it is literally not safe. I need to find the balance...
Tips? Thoughts, comments, suggestions? How do you live the big life you always dreamed of as a teenager, once you enter the reality of a post-grad?
I am catholic too and I would love to go to a gospel church to experience it!
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