Rent

Last night, I needed to get out of the dorms and off campus. Elizabeth took me to Red Robin's in Bellevue--kind of our haunt--and that was great. Lots of fun, good food, and much messing with the server--it's okay, we know him. Then we were wandering around the mall for awhile, not really doing much, when Meghan called and asked me if I could bring some things up to her place from another friend's room--Tia.

Earlier in the day, she'd called and left a voice message inviting me up b/c there's a buttload of people these days who are stressed out of their minds and she was offering her space as a great destresser. At the time, I'd appreciated the gesture, but was thinking of just staying in my room and being alone for awhile. So I'm glad when Eli dragged me to the restaurant and started the destressing process.

Anyhow, Eli and I got back to the dorms and picked up the various items requested before going up to Meghan's to chill with her and Tia. It was so much fun. I haven't had a blast like that in a long time. The destressing was essential by last night. We had more food, tons of laughter and joking, and even some serious time.

We capped the night off by watching Rent which, if you haven't seen it yet, is an essential film (or stage production) to watch. I say this not to support the homosexual lifestyles portrayed in the film, but to point out how much the church is neglected and rejecting those who need love and support the most. The character Angel in the musical--who is a drag queen--is an incredible portrayal of Christ's love. I don't know if that was the intention of the writers, but s/he loves everyone, accepts everyone, and is the support and strength of those around him/her even while dying of AIDS. Seriously, I wish I was more like Angel.

The movie made me cry, and I have a renewed interest in reaching outside the Christian college bubble and being a friend to those who don't necessarily share my views, but do share my humanity and are deserving of seeing God's love. I, for one, am sick of the "us or them" mentality so prevalent EVERYWHERE. We're all people, regardless of race, creed, background, etc. And we're all broken people. Get past it. If we weren't all broken, we couldn't be mended by God, and we couldn't bolster each other when going through the hard times.