Today Mary Lee and I had the joy of meeting Valerie "Kyriosity." Valerie was passing through on the way to the wild west and did us the kindness of stopping in Bloomington for lunch. We'd never met her in person although we'd known her through her excellent contributions on her own and other's blogs. Thus it was good finally for all of us to meet in person.
But more than meeting, it was good to be able to correct some wrongs I'd committed two years ago when I was the cause of Valerie taking a hiatus from commenting on Baylyblog. At that time, Valerie expressed her disapproval of something I'd recommended and in my response I was fairly intense and offended her. We exchanged several private e-mails with each other about the matter and I left that e-mail exchange thinking I'd won back a friend. But I hadn't. So today Valerie was faithful in raising the matter with us over lunch, providing me a chance to go back and apologize and assure Valerie that, back then and since, I've only thought well of her all the time.
Which causes me to say that online relationships aren't easier, but harder to maintain because we don't worship and pray and eat together. We're only disembodied brains hitting keyboards. So if I have offended you (or offend you in the future), would you please send me a private e-mail letting me know of my wrong and giving me a suggestion about what I ought to do to correct it? And if the e-mails don't help, let's talk by phone and see if we can patch things up.
Where there are many words, sin isn't lacking. So let's be faithful to do our work of giving and receiving forgiveness here on Baylyblog as we do in our marriages and families and church households of faith. Thank you to all of you who see my sin and continue to love me despite it. May love cover a multitude of sins among us.
Tim serves Clearnote Church, Bloomington, Indiana. He and Mary Lee have five children and big lots of grandchildren.
Want to get in touch? Send Tim an email!
