What a cool thing it is to connect with so many people, from so many places, and with so many perspectives.  This is a post that was birthed out of my OPEN MIC blog post (BTW- still accepting submission ideas).  I want to hear from others, about how God is at work in their own theological, philosophical, cultural, and social ethics journey.  I personally do not endorse everything that the guest contributors have to say; and it is possible that I will outright disagree with them on some points, but I am always open to dialogue Here is our fourth guest post by a blogging friend, James B. Carroll.

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Recently, my autistic daughter was looking over my shoulder as I was perusing my Twitter home page. She left the room with a nervous giggle and returned to the doorway several minutes later. With a smile that I recognized as her way of conveying that she wanted to say something, but couldn’t come up with the right words, she stood there silently. Unlike other teenagers who are never at a loss for words, she lives with an additional handicapping condition that challenges her ability to express herself verbally. Finally, I asked her what was on her mind. She started to speak, nervously giggled, and shuffled as she was obviously trying to phrase words in her mind before speaking. After several encouraging prompts and additional assurances that I genuinely was interested in what she was trying to say, she finally blurted out, “Are you having an affair?”

Realizing her limited understanding of words adults fully comprehend, including their implications, I calmly told her that I wasn’t. I followed up my response with an invitation for her to sit beside me and talk about what she had asked. When I asked why she posed that question, she pointed to my computer and the same Twitter page and said, “You have pictures of pretty ladies.” I took the time to show her that the pictures and names on that page included men and women with whom I keep in contact, many of whom I have not had the privilege of ever meeting face-to-face. With the same impulsivity as before, satisfied with the explanation I had offered, she said “okay” and left my side to return to her school work.

That brief exchange reminded me that others are oftentimes judging us by nothing more than that first impression, a snapshot of a moment in time. [Read more...]