Every now & again, I’m confronted with something (person, place, thing) that make me question how well I know people. Two things last weekend made me wonder.
The first (actually, the easier to explain): The spiritual gifts seminar at my church. We’re using a workbook that does a pretty good job at helping to determine one’s passions, gifts & personal style. One question was along the lines of if your name is mentioned among friends, what would they say are your passions or interests? That made me think not only of how my friends would respond, but how I would respond about some of my own friends. Some people are easy–they practically wear their passion like clothes. Some are more challenging, where their passions are like the soft notes of a great perfume…there, but subtle, yet appropriate. I’ll have to see if anyone asks me for their opinions on their passions.
The second (the more difficult to explain): A immigration-type letter on someone’s behalf to stay in Canada. When I first saw the email request, I thought hey, I like to write, I could do this. But then I read the entire message and had my mind changed. As I reread it again & again, my mind stay firmly planted on the thought that I really could not write a letter on this person’s behalf.
In the email request, we’re asked to state important things that I honestly and truly don’t know about the person. Things like: they’re not a burden to society; they’re responsible; their community involvement; how I know them and for how long; why it’s in Canada’s best interest to let them stay here; and how they have aspirations for themselves that can only be acheived by staying in Canada and contributing to this society.
Can you see my dilemma? I know who the person is and could point them out to you on the street, but I really don’t know them personally all that well. Certainly not enough to honestly include all that criteria in a letter. And I don’t just want to write a fluffy letter for the sake of adding to the numbers. I don’t even know what country this person is from (I know the continent) or where they’d have to go if they must leave Canada. I don’t even know why the immigration status is in question to begin with.
This is just reason enough to keep talking with my friends, and ensuring that I do know plenty not just about them, but about who they truly are.