Would really appreciate prayers...

[seashale76]

I've been struggling in my faith for quite a while now. It's all a battle for me. I've gone from being extremely active to almost not at all and, what is worse, those I saw most on the parish level have not cared to connect with me at all, and it hurts. The one phone call I've received has been someone wanting something instead of asking me how I've been and what was going on. I realize part of it is me- I'm introverted and have numerous flaws- but I had always been there and was involved. The apparent lack of concern has had an extremely negative effect on me. As a result, it makes me less inclined to want to go to any parish activities.

That my priest even commented that he had once considered calling me and then decided not to- and further insinuated that my issues stem from feeling out of place due to not being Lebanese or whatever (nothing could be further from the truth) has made me resentful (I've not had even one conversation with my priest since then- and it's definitely been a while).

Please pray for me.

 

[truefiction1]

Lord have mercy. Please pray for me also.

 

[~Anastasia~]

Prayers for you, Seashale.

You know in such a situation, the tiniest "reason" can get magnified - and not of your own doing - to further drive a wedge between you and your priest (or anyone who might strengthen us). You have my prayers.

God be with you.

And Truefuction, you have my prayers as well.

Such as they are. But I'm happy to pray for you both.

 

[Anhelyna]

Seashale and Truefiction

Prayers for both of you

 

[gzt]

Ouch! Sounds like the priest had a good intention, didn't follow it, and is now defensive about not following it.

I will take this as an admonition to reach out to people I haven't seen in a while at church, especially if I talk to them a lot in general. I'm not a very out-reachy guy, really. And it's a little hard in the town where I am to presume about that - it's a university town and, you know, people disappear for long periods of time for good reasons in university towns. But I should. I mean, there's an extreme where, if somebody doesn't show up one weekend, they get twenty calls, and we shouldn't do that, but most Orthodox parishes are nowhere near there.

 

[All4Christ]

@seashale76 - I will definitely be praying for you. I feel for you, and some of what you said resonates with me as well. @truefiction1 - you are also in my prayers!

Lord have mercy!

 

[RobNJ]

Lord have mercy

 

[MilesVitae]

I will pray for you, seashale - though it doesn't necessarily mitigate the pain of the absence of other people, remember Christ is present even when others are not.

You will be in my prayers too, truefiction.

 

[ArmyMatt]

Lord have mercy!

been there myself, hang in there

 

[prodromos]

Lord have mercy.

 

[buzuxi02]

Lord have mercy on your servants.

 

[rusmeister]

You are normal, and such feelings are normal.
My heterodox guides are always a help in such a state. Though I'm chided here for admiring them so much, Lewis and especially Chesterton keep pointing me to the Church. They say, in effect, "OK. So you're tired of trying to drag on in the Faith. Well you can go right back where you came from, just walk away. Take a look at the insanity!"
And I look, see that there is literally nowhere else to go, sigh, and drag my behind to Church, to Confession and the Eucharist.

An image from "Raiders of the Lost Ark" that has really stuck with me is when Indy thinks Marion is dead, and Bellc is talking to him about touching God through the Ark, and Indy says, "You want to talk to God? Let's go see Him together. I've got nothing better to do."
And I really have nothing better to do. The winds of mortality are blowing stronger (for Stephen R Donaldson fans, like Amok when they reach the Earthblood in "The Illearth War"), and my life seems shorter and shorter. I just have to keep trying to run the race, poorly as I run, finish the course, and keep the Faith. A little bit of stubbornness helps.

Dunno if that helps. May Christ our God bless you!

 

[Gxg (G²)]

I've been struggling in my faith for quite a while now. It's all a battle for me. I've gone from being extremely active to almost not at all and, what is worse, those I saw most on the parish level have not cared to connect with me at all, and it hurts. The one phone call I've received has been someone wanting something instead of asking me how I've been and what was going on. I realize part of it is me- I'm introverted and have numerous flaws- but I had always been there and was involved. The apparent lack of concern has had an extremely negative effect on me. As a result, it makes me less inclined to want to go to any parish activities.

That my priest even commented that he had once considered calling me and then decided not to- and further insinuated that my issues stem from feeling out of place due to not being Lebanese or whatever (nothing could be further from the truth) has made me resentful (I've not had even one conversation with my priest since then- and it's definitely been a while).

Please pray for me.

Praying for you. I have seen this happen to several, especially in regards to the cultural issues which can both be a blessing when it comes to learning/interaction and a bit of a curse if it feels you're excluded. And ultimately, needing someone to give you a simple shout-out and an "I feel you" - lifting you up and know that there are many who value you for you. You always inspire me, personally, and I do pray the Lord connects you with others. If you'd like, have you ever considered Facebook and some of the groups online? It does not substitute for parish life, of course, but it is an amazing supplement - I talk with others who've been here (i.e. Thekla, Dorothea, etc.) all the time and I would have no problem sending them your email (if you PM or text me) - Thekla actually disconnected her account here so FB is the only place you really can reach her, but Kysslia is friends with her.

 

[Lukaris]

Lord, have mercy.

 

[~Anastasia~]

FB is apparently a mixed bag - I know others here complain about it. But I've cultivated an extremely good group of friends. (Some are not so good ... I tend to keep everything there public, so I don't mind accepting most friend requests, but there are some I set not to see their posts in my feed. I've had to unfriend one or two that were just waaayyyyy in the other direction, and I have one fairly argumentative "friend" who I actually chat with a good bit but I sometimes block their comments for the sake of sparing fairly new Orthodox.) But by and large, I have an extremely good group on there. It's a bit heavy on clergy and monastics, but they tend to be much more reliable, helpful, and just enjoyable for me to talk to. Though some of my favorites are laity as well. I do avoid groups 99% of the time, but they were originally how I found about 1/2 of my friend list (and I'm guessing where many of the friend requests come from, but I'm not really sure).

At any rate, if you want to connect on FB, please feel free to send me a PM. The name I use on CF is an alias, so that won't help.

And FTR, you have been very instrumental in me coming to the Orthodox Church, Seashale, and I will be forever grateful to you for that. Not many here venture into GT, and I wouldn't likely have found TAW (or perhaps not for a very long time) if some of you hadn't. And your answers were often some of the most provocative (to me) and had me scrambling to read and discover if what you claimed could POSSIBLY be true (and finding, often to my chagrin, that they were, even when I didn't want to accept that! )

So I am forever in your debt, dear sister. And you remain in my prayers. I only wish I could help more somehow. God be with you - and I do hope to see you on FB as well.

 

[seekingsolace]

I would be happy to pray for you.

 

[ikonographics]

Lord have mercy! I can relate!

 

[seashale76]

I would like to thank you all for your prayers and uplifting posts. (It's sad to think my situation is normal- but I am glad to know I'm not alone here.) I may have come to dislike a lot of CF- but TAW is the saving grace for this site for me (even though I don't post here often). You all are a true blessing.

I may or may not take you all up on the Facebook thing. (I've only had an account for two weeks- but already dislike it greatly as I've unfriended a few people already due to political and religious posts I think are very inappropriate. I've decided to keep the account but not deal with it much/ignore its existence.)

Truefiction1: You are also in my prayers.

 

[~Anastasia~]

I would like to thank you all for your prayers and uplifting posts. (It's sad to think my situation is normal- but I am glad to know I'm not alone here.) I may have come to dislike a lot of CF- but TAW is the saving grace for this site for me (even though I don't post here often). You all are a true blessing.

I may or may not take you all up on the Facebook thing. (I've only had an account for two weeks- but already dislike it greatly as I've unfriended a few people already due to political and religious posts I think are very inappropriate. I've decided to keep the account but not deal with it much/ignore its existence.)

Truefiction1: You are also in my prayers.

Well, with FB, as I said I put effort into it. I sent friend requests to people whose posts I very much admired, whose programs on AFR I like, etc. When I receive a friend request, I will usually approve it (especially if there is any indication at all that they have at least a nod toward faith) BUT I go through their posts and if I see things I don't want in my newsfeed, I "unfollow" them. We are still "friends" and they can see what I post, but I don't see theirs. When you "like" posts, FB slowly builds a kind of profile on you and shows you more of the same. I also mark posters I most want to see as "close friends" and/or star them to "see first" so I don't miss their posts.

It's been worth it.

Though I must say, there was a bump a few months ago when nearly everyone had something to say about something political, but it passed before I gave up on them.

Depends what you're willing to invest in it, I guess. And I wish I could just recommend my friends list to you, but as I said, I had to unfollow some.

But it's been a great payoff for me in terms of the time I've invested.

 

[ArmyMatt]

It's sad to think my situation is normal- but I am glad to know I'm not alone here.

it's just one of the enemy's common tactics, and he knows how easy it is to trip us up with it.