Maybe some of the most powerful words in the English language are 'I don't know.'
So often we're trying to fake it. We want others to think that we're competent and capable and all those things -- we need to be respected and maybe even admired. We have a self-image and we want others to see us the same way we see ourselves, so we often project knowledge, even if we're not as sure as we're pretending to be.
Admitting that we don't know can be hard. Especially if it's something that we've been doing for years -- over time, we become more trapped and more committed to making others think we know.
It can be so liberating to admit that we don't know, to rely upon the wisdom of the group. To admit that we don't know is to allow room for others to come alongside and help us figure it out. It creates space for others to say that they also don't know. It transforms the atmosphere, because we're no longer performing, but all figuring it out together.
Mary was willing to say she didn't know, and then Peter came along with her to find out. Together, they started putting the pieces together on what God was doing. Admitting she didn't know created a community where they discerned together what God was doing.
There's a long, long, long list of things I don't know. I pray for the wisdom to admit them when they come up, that we may work together to listen to what God is saying and how God is moving.
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