A friend of mine was recently asked, "Are you a Mennonite?"  which inspired him to write a xanga post about it.  Since I have been getting this question quite frequently at my new job, I was of course interested, and had to leave a comment.  Here's the link to his site:    http://www.xanga.com/ramblingsofabeggar   so you have to go there if you want to read all he had to say.  He had some great points I might add, and it really causes a person to think.  I will post my comment below:


(My response)
"O.k. not sure where to start on this one....

   First of all, I have a little trouble having sympathy for you, because I get that question an average of once every couple days or so.  STORY OF MY LIFE.  And the following battle within on what answer to give the perfect stranger is never very pleasant.  Especially when they're standing in the line at Subway, and you're making their sandwich, and you have approximately 27.5 seconds to compile the entire Anabaptist/Mennonite/Amish history, beliefs, doctrine and practices into concise sentences that they can wrap their little heads around.  Let's just say that there's about a billion things I'd rather do.

  I'm totally with you.  My heart shouted a heart AMEN to all that you said.  Literally, all of it.  I can't think of something I'd disagree with.  B-U-T...(you knew there was a 'but' coming:) all this truthful, wise, pertinent thinking still leaves us stranded on that desert island.  We can talk all we want, and we may be right, but honestly, will it ever change?  There will always be enough lovely people, (and I'm not mocking here, they really are wonderful people) that fully believe in their heart of hearts that Mennonite life is the one and only way to make the rest of us feel like heathen sinners for changing. 

Change jeopardizes relationships.  There will always be parents we want to honor, the paster we love and do not want to offend, or the brother/sister we don't want to cause to stumble.  When it comes down to it, you can rationalize and reason until you're blue in the face, and when you're finished you realize that Wow, you are right, but you're stuck in the corner with all your loved ones standing there watching you, waiting to see what you're going to do, and whether or not they'll feel COMFORTABLE or be proud of that choice.

It leaves you feeling...trapped.  Trapped by truth and love, which should never contradict each other but in this rare case, they definitely seem to."


So feedback, what do you think?

   Well, I finally found a job, and I guess work has prevented me from updating much.  I'm working at a Subway again, and I've met some fascinating characters.  My second night I worked with a guy who was raised Mormon and a girl who was raised Jehovah's witness.  It sounds like a lame joke, "A Jehovah's witness, a Mormon and a Mennonite were working in a Subway...."  We actually got into some great discussions about our upbringings and church experience, so that passed the time.

   I really struggled the first couple of days.  I told my dad, "I'm not in Kansas anymore!"  It's just so different than Iowa.  At least in the mid-west they know what Mennos are.  I've been asked questions like, "So, can you people have cell phones?"  And my personal favorite, "Do you choose who you marry, or is that chosen for you?"  At first I really wasn't in the mood at all for all the typical inquiries about my headcovering, or why I wear a skirt, and I came home from work discouraged and depressed.  I realized that my attitude was showing when one of my co-workers informed me, "You're too quiet and you're too grumpy today".  I thought, oh boy, not only is that not any fun to work with, that's not a good witness at all.  So I stepped it up a notch.

   Yesterday went well, and I even had fun.  Still got some weird questions, but they didn't bother me as much.  And the very first day I was there, I was actually given a chance to share a little bit about my faith.  I told them, "Please don't intertwine being a Mennonite so closely with my faith.  I know there's a lot that seems silly and confusing, but the bottom line is, I have a relationship with Jesus.  THAT is what is important to me."  So I was relieved we could at least start out on that note. 
 
   I have this nagging feeling that I'm there for a reason.  I seem to get these jobs that stretch me, and put me directly into situations that require complete vulnerability.  It's good for me, but extremely difficult.  I don't want to be in those situations.  I want to be where I'm comfortable, with people that understand me completely, and don't think I'm some kind of religious freak.  I want to be where people don't put me in a "religious person" box the second they see me, but actually get to know me and what I believe.  But we're not called to come and dine with those people...we're called to go to the homeless, the prostitutes, or the pierced, tatooed, smoking Subway workers. 

  Prayers are appreciated, people!