INVISIBLE & IGNORED

Invisible and Ignored.

Visiting churches is often not something that is pleasant to do, yet here we were looking. . . . .again. So often we were so weary, but something inside gave us the strength and courage to try once more. My husband and I came in with hopeful hearts at finding our people, His people, as we so longed to so many times and places before.

We optimistically went in after being cheerily greeted, then given a bulletin (well the man gave me one, he would NOT give my husband one!) then took a seat close to the front, but not too close. After sitting down many around us were greeting their own friends and not many gave us a glance or a look. Those who did would smile perhaps but head on to talk and visit with those they wanted to, or maybe needed to talk to. So we just sat there and I was just happy to be there sitting with my husband, I felt content although I was looking around and alert.

A woman interrupted my thoughts and I looked up smiling at her thinking she wanted to meet us. Perhaps we were not invisible after all. Well she did not introduce herself, or even say hello, she wanted us to move. Apparently we were in “her” seat. I was like okay, so we moved over some.

Then she just kept smiling and then asked me to still move down some more. So we did. Then she once again asked us to move some more down since her family had some more friends coming. I told her then that if we moved down any more my husband would be falling on the floor! She just kept smiling the entire time but never introduced herself, tried to find out our names or if we were visitors or if we had need of anything.

There were empty pews all around us, yet she had absolutely no problem asking us over and over to move. It made me sad thinking of someone in true need, someone who was searching for God, who needed someone to care and finally gathered the courage to come to church, and in the end were asked to move, not once but over and over again.

It makes me sad when people are treated this way. I know we have been treated so horribly by church people so many times and others have as well. I just pray that whoever reads this will take notice and pay attention to how their actions and how they treat others affect those around them. I do not think this woman intended any ill will towards us whatsoever, she was just so self-focused on her and her family and her friends that she just had no concept whatsoever of how Jesus would want her to treat others. Feeling hurt, yet knowing that, we do not stay in the box which others put us in.

In the end here we did get up and move to clearly another section altogether. And this has happened to us not once, not twice, but several times visiting this church! We all but gave up when a sweet woman not only greeted us but also invited us to class that morning.

We are also delighted to know that in our final home, no one will say to us “You sit here, you sit down there.” all the while being ignored.

No one will be asking us to move and give up our seat, in Heaven!

Matthew 7:12      Romans 12:    James 2:1-13

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