Saturday Shopping

Yesterday, I pulled into the strip mall from a different direction and as I was headed to the grocery story, I passed a storefront that had a sign taped above the door: "Total Consignment".
On the look out for a dresser that we can refinish for the Women in Transition project that the church has taken on, I thought I'd stop and see if maybe there was one on consignment that might work.
So I parked the car and walked up to the place. I could see through the window a set of wire shelves. And when I opened the door, I entered a sort of disorganized space that seemed to be full of used resteraunt furniture. There was a booth and two or three tables with chairs. The funny thing was, people were sitting around the tables, playing some sort of game. They were using cards, but not a regular deck. My guess is that they were dungeons and dragons cards, but I'm not really sure. Anyway, none of the people in this room looked up from their game. I could see another room behind this one, so I walked in there. And, sure enough, it too was full of people sitting around tables, playing this game. Nobody spoke to me. No one asked if they could help me. I turned around and walked out. And I thought, "Well, that's not the place for me. I sorta wonder what was going on in there. Hmmm." And I went on about my business.
And I wonder if that's what happens at church sometimes. People wander in, looking for something they could use. They think, "Maybe this place has what I need." So they come in, and look around, and everybody is playing some sort of game the visitor doesn't quite understand. Nobody acknowledges them. Nobody asks why they came. They can see that they don't belong, and they don't see what they were looking for anyway. So they leave and think, "Hmmm. I kinda wonder what was going on there. Oh well. I've got better things to think about."