During my time at the land.of.cubicles this week, I've been able to connect with a lot of people and this morning I was able to attend our monthly chapel service. Normally during chapel, someone leads the group in guided prayer for sponsors, sponsored kids, and other things going on in the organization. This time, we were told to turn to the person next to us and ask how we could pray for them.
Trying to keep an open mind, I turned to the woman sitting next to me who I didn't know and we introduced ourselves. She immediately told me I could pray for her husband because he was unemployed. I asked her a little more about that and she told me he had just graduated from college and was looking for a job. Easy enough, of course that's something I could try to support her with through prayer...even though we'd never met before.
Then she asked me what she could pray for and I said "We're expecting our first baby, so prayer for energy and health for the rest of my pregnancy are really important."
She looked at me, and said, "Congrats...but really, other than generally, how can I pray for you?".
..................................................................................................................................................................
I looked at her and said, "This pregnancy is a huge part of my life and health and energy are really important to me. That's all I'm asking for right now".
My take away? Apparently being pregnant is too general of a prayer request to share with a complete stranger. I'm trying really hard not to be offended or ticked off by this exchange, perhaps she's never had kids or just doesn't understand how carrying a child impacts every part of your mind, body and soul.
I was uncomfortable with the situation in the first place, so perhaps her response wasn't the only thing that bothered me. One thing that is hard about werking in a faith based environment is that people assume because you are 'brothers and sisters in Christ', they have a right to know very personal things about you, even though you are in a professional werk environment. I have mentioned before that I am a fairly private person at werk, particularly until I feel as though I can truly trust someone as a friend. I have boundaries with complete strangers, so it doesn't necessarily matter to me if we share the same faith or not...I'm not about to have an emotional breakdown on you and tell you about all of my struggles and pain. Besides, I tend to be a fairly positive person, so focusing on negative things isn't really my strong suit. Sorry.
This post has become a bit of a 'venting session', but it makes me ready to head back to Denver and resume my home.werker responsibilities. Being a part of office culture in small doses is good for me, but I'm ready to go home and be back with Jake and Lexi.
Here's a humorous look into a related type of situation: http://www.jonacuff.com/stuffchristianslike/2008/09/remix-53-saying-ill-pray-for-you-and-then-not/
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