Pastor John Van Sloten

Bizarre afternoon.  First I get a call from someone who called just to slam another person.  Immediately sensing where things were headed I said, “Listen, if you’re calling to talk negatively about so-and-so, then I don’t want to have this conversation.  This kind of stuff happens in churches way too much, and I don’t want to be a part of it.”   The person then said, “I’m not calling for that reason at all… and then – for 20 minutes non-stop, without me saying a word – ‘slammed away’.  I couldn’t believe it.   And, at the end of the tirade, when I tried to clarify what had just happened, the caller was oblivious to what they had just done.  Three times I tried to make things clear, and three times I was not heard. Unbelievable.  

Then, an hour later I’m at my son’s school, picking him up from his last day of high school (special needs class).  As I’m thanking his teachers, hugs all around, I realize that Edward has no idea that he won’t be coming back to this classroom, ever again.  To him it was just like any other day when I would pick him up.  He was totally oblivious to reality.   I found myself feeling sad for him… and then sad for that earlier caller.   The caller was oblivious out of the desire to control her world, Edward was cognitively unaware.  And both had no idea.  And it made me wonder what I’m oblivious to in life.  Do any of us really know where we’re blind, manipulative, or living an illusion?