It's true...I'm an eavesdropper.

And even if you deny it, I bet that you are too.

I guess that if people are at coffee shops, describing their life in excruating detail, particularily if it's loudly, they can't be upset that every once in awhile I'm ignoring my book, and being a bit voyeuristic. I mean, if it's really that personal, shouldn't they be talking in a more private enviornment? Granted, I've had a fair share of deep conversations at coffee shops too....but I have a blog! If I was so worried about privacy, I wouldn't allow my life to be such an open book.

Anyways, in the hour or two that I was at St. Mark's tonight, I had an opportunity to listen in on a few, very loud conversations. What amazed me, is that in almost every one, people were trying to work through some sort of grey area in a relationship - friendship...sort of boyfriend...girlfriend...family...

Consistently, they were concerned with what was fair and what they could do....how things can be defined, and essentially how to navigate the very difficult arena of dealing with other people.

Coincidentally, I was reading a bit through 1 Corinthians, and made it to the part that it talks about love. Since I've found myself smack dab in the middle of a marathon of weddings in the past few years, it's been a passage that I've thought through, and heard alot of mini-sermons on. What was striking to me in through the combination of reading the Bible and listening to the expirences of the loud talkers at the coffee shop, was how much time people spend trying to fit the grey into black or white, and yet the depth of time that we could spend just focusing in on the actual black and white that the Bible lays out.

I know for myself, there are always complications in relationships...any realtionship with depth will run into that. And as I navigate my friendships, I want to stop trying to work out exactly what to do with grey, and work really hard on doing what Jesus thinks is black and white...

That means being patient and kind to those that I love. It means fleeing from things like envy, boasting, and pride. Not being rude, self-seeking, easily angered or keeping records of wrongs. Looking at my relationships and delighting in truth rather than evil. It absoultely means protecting, trusting, hoping and perservering in relationships with those that I love.

For me...there is a ton of energy, time, and effort that I could put into just focusing in on those things...not worrying about how the grey areas work out, but putting everything into doing those things well.

Hopefully I'll learn to love those around me a little more too. They really deserve it.