Parallel Lives

I feel stifled. I have two groups of acquaintances: those who share my faith, and those who share my hobbies. It feels like I should add "and never the twain shall meet." (Tangent: Even though I am an English teacher, I still had to check the spelling of "acquaintance.")

The Christians I know are all very nice people, but tend to be pretty mundane. I haven't met ANY who're remotely around my age, nor any who seem imaginative enough to want to devote several hours (or more) a week to a creative adventure. It just doesn't matter to them. Likewise, my net-friends who know me through my MUXen are not particularly interested in discussing Christian history, theology or current issues.

To make matters worse, there are very, very few people around here who are in my age group. That is to say, I can't think of ANY, locally. Several of my co-workers are only a few years older than me - but they have kids, and that really puts you in a whole different life stage.

I don't have people to 'hang' with. And I'm not sure where they are... or even if there ARE any more. Right now, the only person who truly understands me on both faith and imagination is my husband. Truly, this is good, but... I need some buddies. It's harder for me, cuz I'm a girl, and RPGs and theological reflection both seem to be male-dominated hobbies.

I'm great at meeting new people - but I have trouble finding the RIGHT people. It's awkward - kind of like dating. (Which I never liked either, by the way.) Finding friends is as uncomfortable as finding a new church home. Things seem so contrived and artificial and then I feel awkward and guilty if it doesn't work out.