Last night Dianne (Unfinished Work), Katrina (Callapidder Days) and I met for dinner at the local Applebee's. Our last get-together was fall, 2006. That was the first time we met face to face, or in blogese MIRL. Last time we brought laptops, took photos, and talked about blogging non-stop. That's what we had in common back then.

This time, we sat and enjoyed dinner together for 2 1/2 hours. Our conversation covered jobs, lack of jobs, diaper issues, family, friends, church, boundaries with family, what books we are reading, mentoring, a writer's conference, an upcoming beach trip, - with a little blogging talk thrown in at the end. The conversation common to friends (who happen to blog) getting together.

As our conversation rambled around the whole blog thing, we talked about the 'comment issue', and the fact that blogging serves different purposes for each of us and other bloggers in general. Dianne's blog doesn't have comments enabled. Katrina does some big book readings and give aways, so she's often swamped. I'm somewhere in between. Some bloggers seem more relational, some use it as a place to practice writing, some - a mix of both. Some seem to write to gather comments, and maybe that's just their competitive nature coming out - not necessarily a bad thing. Some can't help but write whether they get a comment at all. A few are constantly serious - then there are those who write to entertain. All three of us agreed, regardless of style, we tend to gravitate to those genuine bloggers, whose 'realness' comes through their postings. Isn't it amazing how different God made each of us? Wouldn't it be nice if we could learn to appreciate those differences? My first tendency is often to assume my ways, thoughts, opinions are 'right', so doesn't that make others' 'wrong'? Wouldn't it be nice if we could grasp the beauty of individuality, being just like the Good Lord made us? Surely even zebras, or elephants, or tigers at the zoo, which we label as 'the same' - surely they have different 'personalities' just like we humans. Surely there are grouchy zebras, outgoing elephants, unpredictable tigers? If there's variety in animals, wouldn't we expect it in the human race, and couldn't we come to accept it just a bit more?

Sitting at dinner, listening to Dianne talk in her quiet way of things a bit deep, and of Katrina relishing a night out from the responsibilities of caring for little ones, I was struck by our differences, and how they bring energy to our friendship. I can't tell you what either girl had on, none of us fussed much. We were among friends. Hence, no photos of our dinner out. And of course we had something chocolate for dessert.

Labels: Glimpse of the Heart