And, mind you, \u201cintrovert\u201d carries with it a bit of \u201csomewhere, somebody is probably secretly diagnosing me as on the autism spectrum.\u201d \u00a0Ill at ease in social situations, never quite relaxed because you\u2019re worrying that you\u2019ll say the wrong thing, or, at any rate, won\u2019t say the right<\/em> thing, and then will give everyone around you the impression that you\u2019re a half-wit for standing there stupidly.<\/p>\n That\u2019s been me, pretty much my whole life, and I feel like I\u2019ve become even more introverted\/social skills-impaired lately \u2013 or perhaps I\u2019m just acknowledging this about myself more. \u00a0To be sure, I put forth a good effort at socializing, getting involved, for instance, with the monthly discussion-and-socializing couples group at church. \u00a0Heck, my husband and I are even one of the leader couples this year, and I think I do a respectable job leading the discussion, though, unlike, I suspect, pretty much everyone else in the group, I find the structured discussion part easier than the socializing afterwards.<\/p>\n Lately, though \u2014<\/p>\n well, at last month\u2019s leader pre-meeting, I said something that I perceived of as just a part of the flow of discussion, that drew a very angry response from another group member, and I just can\u2019t shake the feeling that my best efforts to participate and \u201cfit in\u201d are a bust. \u00a0This was followed by a set of coordinating calls around Cub Scouts, and a round of calls arranging my parents\u2019 visit and a 50th anniversary celebration (nothing very big, just immediate and some extended family), and then my parents\u2019 and sister\u2019s actual visit for the past week, and, well, I\u2019ve pretty much had enough of people (outside husband and children) for a while.<\/p>\n But the homily today (\u201ctoday\u201d being yesterday, when I started drafting this post) \u2013 well, it started with Mary and the shepherds, and the idea that the shepherds did not just come to worship Jesus and then leave, but were the teachers, telling Mary and Joseph what the angels had told them. \u00a0Then the priest said that shepherds, at the time, were the \u201clowest of the low,\u201d and brought in his work with refugees, and told us that we should not just help the poor and downtrodden, but \u201clisten to their stories\u201d and be taught by them.<\/p>\n And you\u2019ve likely heard that before \u2014 that it\u2019s not enough to write a check, but that we have to actively interact with the poor and needy, or the sick, or those that need some other sort of aid, for our deeds to be truly meritorious. \u00a0Likewise, it\u2019s not enough to read the Bible and say some prayers, but you really need to reach out to others, and build good relationships with other people, to be a Good Christian. \u00a0It\u2019s what you get on Trinity Sunday, too: \u00a0just as the Trinity is a relationship, so we, too, must live our Christian lives building relationships with others rather than being in isolation.<\/p>\n So where does that leave introverts and those who struggle with social situations? \u00a0Are we welcome in the Kingdom of Heaven?<\/p>\n (And, yes, less grumpy, more New Year\u2019s-y post coming soon, but I wanted to get this off my chest.)<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" And, mind you, \u201cintrovert\u201d carries with it a bit of \u201csomewhere, somebody is probably secretly diagnosing me as on the autism spectrum.\u201d \u00a0Ill at ease in social situations, never quite relaxed because you\u2019re worrying that you\u2019ll say the wrong thing, or, at any rate, won\u2019t say the right thing, and then will give everyone around […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2209,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[515],"class_list":["post-5786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-introverts"],"yoast_head":"\n