When people have a certain, inaccurate perception of you, it’s really great to prove them wrong. 

We form perceptions of people all the time. When we first meet or see someone, we instantly have a perception of them.

We secretly determine what their personality is like or how smart they are. We size them up – are they funny, serious, intriguing or boring? 

And we do all this in a matter of seconds.

Every once in a while my wife, Lily, and I will do some people watching. It makes for some good entertainment, especially if we are just sitting around, like in the food court of a mall.

We might notice a couple talking at the entrance of a store across the way. I’ll give Lily a rundown of their possible conversation. My story will include what the couple are talking about, whether they are arguing or agreeing with each other. 

Sometimes I will provide accents for the two people or what their voices sound like.

Our perceptions are not always right … likely more wrong than right. It doesn’t matter because this all happens before we have met them.

It is one thing to have a perception of someone you are meeting for the first time. It’s a totally different thing to have a perception of someone you have known for years and years … like about 40 years.

That’s what I ran into this weekend. 

Our daughter, Karlie, has just taken training in FST. You probably have no clue what that is – most people don’t. It stands for Fascial Stretch Therapy. 

… And it has nothing to do with the face. 

It does have to do with the most prevalent connective tissue in your body.

Your fascia supports every aspect of movement – muscles, tendons, organs, ligaments and nerves.

FST can increase your flexibility, reduce aches and pains, and improve range of motion. A person trained in FST basically stretches you during a session. 

Well, Karlie has recently started treating clients and loves to improve her skills as much as possible. (You can check out her instagram pics here.)

… So who better to practice on when you are home for Thanksgiving than your family?! 

Let’s just say there was a lot of stretching that happened this past weekend. 

But then there was me – the only one who hadn’t been stretched. 

The perception of the family was that I would be very tight and that my flexibility and range of motion would be dismal. 

I guess all the disparaging talk and the perception of my physical condition got to me. I had Karlie stretch me. 

Ha, turns out their perception was wrong! I am way more flexible and have way more range of motion than both my wife and son. 

So much for perception.

Here’s the thing: Many people have perceptions of God. Their perception is based on things they have heard and people they’ve listened to. Some people form their perception based on something that happened to them. They make up a scenario of God’s involvement in that incident. But these are all perceptions and they may be wrong. To know what God is like, you have to meet Him and have experience with Him. You can start to meet Him by reading the Bible, and have experience with Him by talking with Him (prayer). The more you do these things, the more you will discover what God is really like.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What perception do you have that needs to either be proved true or busted? Leave your comments and questions below.

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