Open Mike Night

Put six guys in a room, tell them it's "open mike night" - you can talk about anything - and what do you get? Comments about the Orioles mess of a season, commentary on the political scene, World Cup predictions, Ravens predictions, stock market woes, the latest golf or fishing adventure, the latest electronic gadgets on the market.....? And that's why I love my small group.
Last night was open mike night in our group. Without a pause or hesitation, one of our guys dove in to how he has been struggling for the last year with being unforgiving of some former friends who hurt him and his struggle to be forgiving. The next guy talked about how receiving a heart stent (he's still upset about missing his par putt after he was picked up after he collapsed on the 9th green when the heart attack hit - go figure) is making him take a difficult look at the stressors in his live. Next up was a painful conversation about one of our guys marriage difficulties. A fourth member, who was late for the meeting, never heard of "open mike night" (mostly because we never did it before), but jumped right in. He was able to unload a bit of the stress he's feeling because an illness in his family has upset the balance in his family and disoriented his household. And I was asked to talk about the deep sadness I feel when I am faced with the issue of suicide in people's lives.
Wow. Everyone spoke from the heart. And when it was time to pray at the end - the prayers were longer, deeper, and God honoring. God really does show up in circles.
Open mike night - what a concept!