FACT or CRAP?

This evening, I was honored to speak to group of ladies at the Brethren Housing Association in Harrisburg, PA. BHA helps homeless and low-income individuals and families achieve their God-given potential by securing housing and providing supportive services and loving relationships.

One of the things we talked about tonight was assumptions and perceptions; how they impact our lives. Yeah, so I played “Fact or Crap” with the ladies to see what assumptions they would make about me, based on the little bit of time they interacted with me before the meeting.

Assumptions made about Sherry by the BHA participants:

Fact: Sherry was a preacher kid.
Fact: Sherry is afraid of heights.
Crap: Sherry can speak three languages fluently.
Fact: Sherry graduated from college.
Fact: At one time, Sherry dealt drugs for her boyfriend.
Crap: Sherry grew up in a Mennonite environment.
Crap: Sherry was homeless at age 21.
Fact: Sherry was a foster parent.

So, they thought that I was a preachers kid (uh, I’m not) but since they assumed I was preachers kid, they assumed that I did deal drugs. Ugh! What is that?!!? Should I be concerned about my kids? They did not believe that I grew up in a Mennonite environment. I did, can you picture me with the pig tails and long dresses? They assumed that I had a college degree; I have a GED. They were smart enough to realize that I can barely speak the English language most days, much less three languages. I must look like a fearful person, because they pegged me as afraid of heights. (Pastor Jeff, please, let’s not try to overcome that fear on the mission trip this year – swimming in the ocean last year was enough!) They believed that I was a foster parent. The one gal said that "I looked like the type." What does that mean?! The ladies couldn’t picture me being homeless at 21 years of age. I was. I lived in my car and then it got stolen. Could you imagine having your house stolen? So sad.

One of the ladies mentioned tonight, that our experiences shape our assumptions. I have a feeling that she is well on her way to making some great life changes!

You know, the dictionary defines assumptions as, “something accepted as truth without proof.” Do you ever do that? Do you ever make assumptions based on your experiences or perceptions? Do you sometimes accept CRAP as FACT? Truth without proof? I don’t just mean about others. How about in your own life?

Do you ever accept CRAP like “I always mess up” or “it’s just never going to work out”? That’s not FACT! That’s CRAP. The Word of God tells us that we have been cleaned up and given a fresh start (Corinthians 6:11) and that God can do more in our lives than we can imagine in our wildest dreams (Ephesians 3:20).

Let's be intentional about not accepting crap as fact. Not about ourselves and not about those around us!