You should all be well into Larry Crabb's book, The Safest Place On Earth, by now. We'll be discussing it as a group on Wednesday, April 4.
This book is a little different in that I don't entirely endorse a lot of what Crabb says. Some of what he says I like, and other parts of it are not so good. Nonetheless, it should provoke some good discussion.
However, before we discuss it face to face, I'd like for us to start the conversation here. As you read the book, what parts of it did you like/agree with, and which parts did you dislike or disagree with? If you disagreed, what would you say instead?
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I'm getting to this book a little slowly but I'll try to get some conversation going. I'm around page 50 and so far he has said things like we contain within us good and that is proved because we don't like the ugliness in ourselves (our irritation towards others, our bad habbits, things that we might find need to seek the help of others for) We wouldn't seek that help if we were not good deep within (Crabb's claim). And I want to believe this also. If nothing else it puts a new dememsion to the imagio dei and it gives us hope for greater transformation to being more like Christ.
Another part I've been jiving with is not needing people to try to fix me all the time. Sometimes when I share a hurt, I don't want solutions and to fix it. Sometimes I want to sit with the suffering and seek greater understanding of it. And I don't want people to think this is unhealthy either. I want people to join me in the pain, sit near and listen and wonder at the glory of God for his loving suffering.
On Tuesday (today is friday) I shared with my closest friend at Wheaton this season of suffering I was entering into and she is sad for me but thinks that it is something I should work to get through. I explained to her that these seasons of suffering have resulted in who I am today. I wouldn't be the friend she loves if I always ran from pain and difficulty. Suffering is transformative. Still she thinks God desires to rescue me from this discomfort. She passed along a note that says, "Jen-there is victory dear friend. Proverbs 2:6-7. For the Lord gives wisdom and understanding. He holds victory in store for the upright, He is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, For He guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones."
She doesn't get it yet. But that too is okay. Soon she will enter into a time of suffering and pain, I will resign myself to sit with her during that time.
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