"Depends on who you ask"

Today Sally (the lady I'm staying with) took me on a tour of the County that we're in - the County of Down. We saw a lot of really old stuff - monastery ruins from the 5th century, stone circles (smaller versions of Stone Henge) from 1500 B.C., and the three places where St. Patrick is buried. Yes. It depends on who you ask. In the County Town of Down - "Downpatrick" - there is a beautiful cathedral on top of one of the three hills that Downpatrick was built on, and St. Patrick was buried there. There are two other places where St. Patrick was buried. Sally and I talked about how history is more about story (that is, the story of the person who's telling it) rather than what "really" happened - and I continue to be amazed at how important story and identity are around here. For example, it "depends on who you ask" if Gaelic is just a sport (a cross between football - that is, soccer - and rugby) or if it is also a language (and if so, it's the same as "Irish"). It depends on who you ask if Belfast is in a different country than Dublin.

And, it depends on who you ask if you get to where you want to go or not. A Dubliner I met at the Belfast City Vineyard a few weeks ago told me that if I wanted to be sure I knew where I was going, I should "ask three people and take the average." People aren't deliberately deceptive, their world is just very personally/personal identity oriented. Combine that with an eager to help and you've got yourself...well, in my case, pretty much lost. But, fascinated nonetheless. And...reassured that God actually does know what He's doing - beyond a cosmic/big-picture/future sense...God really knows how to love ME. For example, the view of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Downpatrick from Inch Abbey:

After this, I watched a heart-wrenching movie, "Inside I'm Dancing" about two blokes (it's set in Dublin and I've actually been to some of the places in the film!) in wheelchairs who become friends and...well, since I highly recommend you all go watch it, I won't spoil it. It's brilliant!