Throwing Stones

Stephan,

I hold no grudges, and do apologize if I hurt Billy Mac's feelings. I did read the intial post as an attack and I did react to it in that manner.

I accept that Billy did not mean it that way, and aplogize to him for my reaction.

Even with that said, had he meant it how I read it, I would still say, "I'm sorry for my reaction."

I am going through some stressful times in life at the moment and apparently they are getting to me in more ways than one.

 

Ben and Stephan and Golden, and anyone else I missed, thank you.

I really never thought about anyone reading it the way they read it, but I guess BillyMac didn't expect me to read his comments the way I did either.

For those wondering.

There are numerous reasons I have been thinking about it a lot.

First - Because of this very kind of thing where one innocent phrase in picked up out of a thread and turned into a larger issue, ignoring the real intent of the thread. Because of the way the word "heretic" and "heresy" is tossed around on this Board with little love and a lot of anger.

Second - Because I've been thinking a lot about my Mother lately. My father died unexpectedly on the Wednesday prior to Father's day when I was 15. Less than 2 weeks later my mother informed me that she had a malignant breast cancer and been given just a few years to live because they couldn't get it all with surgery. (It had attached to the breast plate). So, this time of year tends to have me thinking back to Mom. Add to that the fact that my daughter, right now, is the age I was when my mother died, and I catch myself thinking, "If I died tomorrow, have I told them all the important things Mother told me?"

Third - Two people who I love very much have been falsely accused by "Christians" who took the, "hate now, love when Christ returns," approach to life.

One is my sister. She had committed to help at a camp her church sponsors, well over a year in advance. On the day she was supposed to leave for camp, a woman in her office was found deceased in her home. My sister did what she could that day, but went on to camp. When she returned people she worked with who were professing Christians were making snide remarks around and in front of her like, "Some people talk a lot about God, but they think their personal life matters than a friend's death," or "I guess I know who'll care if I drop dead," while cutting their eyes to her. The thing is, she loved dearly the woman who died, and we all know that the woman would have, very much wanted the camp to come first. When my sister had cancer in the urinary tract, it was that woman who visited her. No one else. In return, when that woman had been ill previously, it was my sister, alone, who cared for her. Yet, here were the stone throwers. The stress of working in that environment is literally harming my sister's health.

The other is my daughter. She had shared a dorm room at a baptist university with a rather popular girl. This popular girl snuck a man into the dorm and slept with him in my daughter's room while my daughter was on a mission trip. My daughter found out when she got back to the dorm early and caught them in bed together. My daughter kept their secret because she didn't want to be an evil, backstabber, but she asked the girl to change rooms. A hall attendant happened to catch on at the same time. My daughter didn't tattle on the girl, but the girl thinks my daughter did. Now, my daughter finds total strangers coming up to her on this Christian Campus, telling her it is "just mean" and "wrong" of her to "stick her nose in other people's business." As a Mom, I want to get all the little brats expelled. Where are the Christians going, "Why did you sneak a man into a female dorm and sleep with him?"

Anyway, THAT is why "throwing stones" is on my mind, and things that imply talking about it or thinking about it means you have some unconfessed sin just add to my disgust at the moment.

BillyMac has said that isn't how he meant it, and I believe him. So I apologize again for misreading his intent.