Sunday, March 11, 2007

Friday, March 2, 2007

Rejection Is Fun

The first time I heard this phrase, it was being used by some of the company guys who were spending their summer making cold calls for an internship. I'm finding it helpful as an unofficial motto for our missionary efforts, too.

Gina and I had a conversation today that was eerily similar to a bad role-play we did together the first day we went out to talk to women on campus about the Lord. In this role-play I pretended to be a quasi-Christian, who really felt like all religions were basically the same. I essentially questioned every statement and claim Gina made. While she responded well, the conversation really didn't go far at all. This conversation was a lot like that experience, I felt like I was digging myself deeper and deeper into a little hole every time I said something. Basically, it didn't go anywhere, but the woman happily said it had been "interesting" to talk to us when we left.

This was a frustrating experience, and I am pretty sure that she was not someone the Lord was preparing for us to talk to. But in a strange way, it almost was fun. When we were walking home afterwards, Gina and I kept coming up with things that we should have said differently, or that might be good to try in a similar situation. Even though it was a clear rejection, it was actually sort of invigorating and encouraging for us. We were inspired to go back and try new things the next time encounter a conversation like this.

Evangelizing random women like this has been extremely intimidating for me, particularly at first. But really, I think anticipating rejection is a lot worse than actually being rejected, because, of course, there’s really nothing to fear with the Lord. When we get rejected, we're still working with the Lord and being creative in that situation. And how can that ever be a bad time? Praise God! With him, even rejection becomes fun!