Our new cat, Sheldon, spent the better part of two days hiding behind the washing machine, because it was the first place he was let out of his cat cage, and he realized that no one could 'get him' behind there. It was a place of refuge. As he warmed to us as a family, he gradually started leaving the laundry room, but would nervously look around corners, and frequently and without explanation, scurry back to the laundry behind the washing machine. After a couple weeks of living with our family, Sheldon has pretty much mastered the upstairs floor of the house, and has started to investigate the lower level.
Members of the church are taught that the world is full of evil and wrong, and from fear of the unknown, they choose to confine themselves behind the washer as a shield against a bad world. I'm sure that there are bad people. I've met a few of them. I'm sure that there are ways a person can get hurt. I've seen a few of them. But like the miserably depressed creature whose happiness consisted of cowering in a solitary location, missing out on the chance to get to explore and experience the world is a tragedy. I embrace the chance to see the world, good and bad, and like the wide-eyed wonderment of Sheldon, I'm apprehensive about what I might find around the corner, but to be too afraid to try would mean missing out on a good chance that I can trade in the cold hard tile floor of the laundry with a soft, snuggly pillow in a bedroom. Goodbye cold tile floor: Hello snuggly pillow!
JB
This is a very good parable. I have found it to apply to my life. Friends of mine told me about your blog. I'm in Nashville. I've been out for three years now. It keeps getting better as time goes on.
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