“Snarkiness” I like that. Blessing, Debbie,
to you and yours. I’ll miss your beautiful writing talent. izzy From:
[EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Lance Muir ----- Original Message ----- From: Debbie Sawczak To: 'Lance Muir'
Sent: March 24, 2006
21:02 Subject: Goodbye, and thanks
for all the ichthys I was afraid this was too long, but
David's leisurely post has given me courage to blather a little, like the
parting guest who suddenly becomes talkative in the doorway. I’m glad for the time I spent on TT, even
though I left. I did learn stuff, especially early on as I
encountered some ideas for the first time; certain posts,
especially at the beginning, opened windows for me. Even some of the more
plodding discussions were an occasion for clarifying my own thinking or,
alternatively, fuzzifying it if it was a little too sharp! And that may have
been the best benefit of TT. I remember being surprised at the very
beginning by the aggressiveness—a newish thing for me among believers even
though I’ve moved in a wide variety of Christian circles. The exposure wasn’t
all bad--it made me a bit more assertive and thicker-skinned, and forced me to
recognize how easily I can be provoked to snarkiness myself. But I often
felt sad after an exchange. Sometimes, on the other hand, I was completely
taken aback by the generosity and affirmation in people's responses. So I hope
that if the experience has made me less naive about the
behaviour of Christians, it hasn't gone so far as to make me cynical. I
still think I might have misunderstood the culture of TT...I'm not
very astute that way. I’ve seen something of the serious
limitations of e-mail, and yet I feel like I’ve met real people. I found
every character on TT interesting and memorable, and enjoyed the different
‘flavours’ and the occasional anecdotal glimpses into people’s lives.
I'd love to meet you all face to face. In the eschaton if not before! Thank you, Lance, for introducing me to
TT and encouraging me to participate--an act so beautifully typical
of you. But I especially want to thank David: you relentlessly
engaged everybody, no matter how intractable, and even at your crazy-makingest
you had the best manners of all--or at least made the best show of manners! J To me, the act of
keeping this forum so wide open as long as you did, and the latitude you
have given people to be themselves, show a broadness above and beyond
your words that commands my respect. Just to irritate some of you, I was going
to finish with an excerpt quoting Bonhoeffer on how we reflect Christ to each
other, from the chapter I've just finished working on in Victor's book.
Instead, here's something less lofty, which for me is a kind of parable for TT: I'm watching my husband gently
heave our sleeping youngest son up from the living room couch where he has
repaired in frustration at his brother's endless, irritating snores. He
had taken his pillow and blankets there after incrementally severe degrees
of poking and bedshaking had failed to correct his brother's breathing. But now
he falls forward into his dad's arms, willingly allows himself to be
moved, and wakes up as he is conducted by hands on his shoulders back to his
own bed. He crawls in beneath the bunk of his brother who snores
impenitently on, and settles back to sleep. This is repeated two or three
times a week, but is always forgotten in the morning, and neither brother
will tolerate talk of separate bedrooms. Open hands, everybody, and Jude 24 &
25. Love Debbie -- |
- [TruthTalk] Fw: Goodbye, and thanks for all the ichthys Lance Muir
- RE: [TruthTalk] Fw: Goodbye, and thanks for all the ich... ShieldsFamily
- Re: [TruthTalk] Fw: Goodbye, and thanks for all the ich... knpraise