The Space Between
Trust. It seems to be an essence or a feature that is built deep into each of us. There are some people you trust and some you don't. However, what I am coming to realize is that there are some people you trust especially and others that don't lack anything but relational experience with one's self. Does that mean that I have more trust for everyone I have known for awhile? No, I guess trust is more complicated than that.Yesterday I was asked to trust someone- which incidentally I would say that I do trust the person. They were referring to a very deep level of trust that they wanted from me and honestly, now that I think about it, I find I am not willing to give out that trust. When I thought about why my mind skipped back to a conversation I had with Elissa 6 months ago (I think 6 months is about right). I told her that I didn't think she trusted me. Trust ended up being something we needed to see and put initiative into. My thought yesterday was that if this person wanted my deeper trust they might have to do somethings to build trust. But is that too much to ask?
Is it too much to ask that one would move towards me so that I would have more experience to trust them on? To this end I went back to Elissa. Last night I asked her if she trusts me more now than six months ago or if she just tried to act like she did. Then I wondered, if she trusts me more, did I do things that helped her trust me more or was she on her own. Evidently she does trust me at a greater level and I did help her to draw towards that. All this said, I want trust to be a value in our group.
Trust has been valued at different levels in other groups I've been in. However, the least safe situations have been when group membership is constantly open with no thought and no hope for people who want more. Because our current group is like any other group I have ever been in and because it is so special to me-- well, I am hoping for trust to be a high value. What does that look like?
The simplest word picture I can think of for trust is people leaning into a circle. Many times as we've met I feel people have leaned into our group with their interest and care as if something is in the middle of the circle. While I don't want to say it is Jesus in the center, it is. Follow me here, I am not trying to speech in familiar terms. In my mind walking with Christ is the pinnacle of our faith. As Jesus beside us is the pinnacle of our personal journeys, Jesus as a center seems to be the largest combining factor any group could have.
To be continued...
posted by Simon Yost @ 8:37 AM
1 comments
