I See Dead People

I was at Dismas this past Friday and got to chat with a bunch of really cool people. One conversation in particular seemed to stick with me the entire night. A little back story.

This past Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, I was able to go to Montreal with 17 other people from Tyndale. It was a sweet road trip, albeit a bit short, but very entertaining and fun none the less. While we were there, we went to Mount Real and checked out a view of the city. As we were driving, we passed by this huge cemetery that seemed to go on as far as the eye could see. We were all 'ooh'-ing and 'aah'-ing at the dead people and making comments about some of the fancier headstones and mausoleums.

Now, fast forward to Friday's Dismas. Choo Yee was telling someone about our trip to Montreal and happened to mention the cemetery and all the headstones we saw. This person she was talking to, Don, then said something that has since seemed to take on a life of it's own. He said 'all the headstones don't really interest me. What really fascinates me are the stories each of these headstones have to tell.' As I began to thing about that comment, something seemed to click inside my head. So often when I've driven by or walked through cemeteries, I find myself attracted to the more lavish headstones, rather than the simple ones. I'm not really interested in who's buried there, but more interested in how they look. As I thought about this, I realized that in a really twisted way, I find myself taking the same mindset when I interact with people. So often when I pass by people, I focus on their external appearance and not much else, but totally ignore the fact that each person has a story of importance. I tend to objectify people, whether I know them or not, and treat them as things I can use to bring satisfation unto myself.

In other words, these people I come across are no longer living beings to me, but dead people who I hope to use for my own gain.

As I find myself marinating in this idea, I'm left in a state of disgust and humility. Who am I to say that I am more important than the next person and allow myself to take seat at the head of the table?

Today, I vow to begin the journey of seeing people as they are, and not as who I want them to be. No more moving headstones. No more living cemetaries. I no longer want to see dead people walking, but God's creation whispering His amazing graces for all the world to experience.