Friday Five: A List

Today's task is to list five living people, whom I may or may not know personally, but whom I admire. Hmmm....

5. This young woman in my parish who shall remain anonymous. She came in to talk to me the other day about her faith. Not having grown up with any kind of church background, she feels pretty lost in the whole faith thing but has an astounding stubbornness to tackle it head-on. I admire that a lot. I admire her willingness to admit what she doesn't know.

4. Jimmy Carter. Best. Ex-President. Ever.

3. Terence Fretheim. My very favorite seminary professor. Great teacher, great passion for the bible, great asker-of-interesting-questions, and unbelievably good at remembering people's names. Super smart, but always makes you feel like you are just as important as anyone else. I aim to be the kind of teacher he is.

2. My husband. (He could also be listed at number 1: we have a tie here, really.) I have always admired his ability not to take everything personally. This is a gift I most assuredly do not have. Not that he's uncaring, but simply that he can hear a criticism, agree or disagree with it, and move on. He doesn't stew in many things the way I do.

1. My parents. (See disclaimer above.) These are people who take their faith seriously, but who are humble about it. I really admire the fact that they keep wanting to learn new things, that they're willing to re-think old assumptions. How devoted they are to their church, for all the right reasons. And how they want to challenge that same church, for all the right reasons.

It feels good to think about these people. Not a bad assignment for a Friday.