My friend sits beside me in church on Sunday, barely awake from her mission trip to the Dominican Republic. “I missed you! How was your trip?” I ask.
This is a terrible question, and I know better. It’s an overwhelming, nonspecific kind of question that makes my friend do all the work. When I returned home from Chicago, my husband didn’t ask, “How was your trip?”
I would have said, “Fine,” and then I would have yawned.
But he asked, “What surprised you the most about the process there?”
What surprised me? Oh, I have so much to say! I want to tell you everything about the technology and my voice and the whole thing!
So this morning as I prepare to meet with other professors for our Bible study, I’m so eager to connect with my friend who just took her whole family on a mission trip. I don’t want to ask, How was your trip? I want to ask a question that will bless her and help her process all that she experienced.
I ask my family what they think are the best questions to ask a returning friend, and we come up with these that I just love:
- When did you have to be the most flexible?
- How and when did you experience God the most?
- What did you see God do for you as a family?
- What did you learn that you’ll want to incorporate in your life and ministry?
- What are you finding yourself praying for now that you’ve returned?
I’m excited to ask better questions. I love a good question like a love a good verb!
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