The Lesson of the Fish

Today, one of my sons' friends came over to visit, being off of school for Thanksgiving week. Among the many varied activities they tried, they decided to catch some fish; and they did. They got a net and a hole-less flower pot and scooped some small fish into the pot to bring back to the house. My son and his friend showed his brothers the fish they caught and then moved on to another activity, leaving the little fish in the hole-less flower pot outside.

And they were forgotten.

Then, my husband came home from work and noticed the fish in the pot... and one poor little fish, dead on the cement, who had tried to escape the flower pot and get back in the water. My son said that the fish had really wanted to get back in the ditch. To which I replied that they all wanted to get back to the ditch. But in his attempt to escape, he died. And the thought occurred to me that some of us, myself included, could really learn from the lesson of the fish.

Sometimes, our situation is really bad. Truth be told, if the little fish had stayed in the flower pot, forgotten, he would have eventually died from lack of oxygen. His desire to escape was a valid one. But he didn't wait for rescue, he took matters in his own hands and ended up dead on the sidewalk. His little fish brothers are being returned to the ditch, and life and freedom, as I write. If he had waited, he would have been with them.

So, this is the lesson: Sometimes, when we get tired of waiting on God to save us from our situation, we take matters into our own hands and make our situation worse than before. If we can suffer a little while longer, have just a little more patience and faith, then just maybe we will live long enough to see the sweeter waters God has planned for our future.

Destructive Feminism

I have a friend on Facebook that wrote regarding his religious beliefs that he hopes, as to whatever is out there, that he or she is on his side. This statement got me to thinking about the use of the masculine pronoun "He" to refer to God. The Bible teaches that God is Spirit. God is not limited in any way by gender. He does not need a counterpart to reproduce. If God wants to create another being, He simply does it. He also doesn't need a physical body to commune with those He loves. In the form of the Holy Spirit, He enters and indwells those with whom He shares a love relationship. The Bible also teaches that when we die, we neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven, suggesting that gender is irrelevant in heaven. God is also given both male and female qualities throughout the Bible, suggesting that God is above gender… He is something greater than either man or woman, but more like both together. So, why then use the masculine gender to refer to God? (And you're probably wondering what this has to do with feminism, but I'm getting to that.)

In a patriarchal society, and ancient Israel was a patriarchal society, to refer to God in the feminine would have meant to relate him to the "inferior" sex. The Israelites naturally would have called God "He" to acknowledge His superiority and headship of Israel. So, the question I eventually came around to is, "Are we still a patriarchal society?" And here is my conclusion: modern feminism has reinforced American patriarchalism.

So, why do I say this? After all, women have come a long way from being relegated to the home, right? Well, here it is: American women (and probably European women) have reached for equality with men by adopting traditionally masculine traits and devaluing traditionally feminine roles. Modern women want to do what men do and be what men have historically been. And they've been moderately, though not completely, successful. My thought is that by trying to assume male roles, women have essentially said, "You're right, it's better to be a man than to be a woman."

If we really want to challenge the patriarchal system, then we need to restore value to traditional female roles. Matriarchal systems value motherhood and the traits and experience that are required to be a nurturing mother and support a strong family system. While modern women have proven they can be successful in a great variety of professions, we have at the same time done serious damage in respect to the roles that make women distinctly different from men. Culturally, we have joined men in rejecting the value of women who devote their lives to the home. If we truly want triumph, American women need to acknowledge that there are some things that women are particularly suited to do, just as there are some things that men are particularly suited to do… and be proud of that, rather than trying to be "little" men.

Do I have a certain amount of disrespect for current-day feminism? Yes. I think they have disrespected what makes us essentially feminine. Feminists have given men the right to judge women by a new set of standards: one that raises our standards professionally, but lowers our standards personally. We have given up as much as we have gained, and therefore have we really gained anything? Or have we simply given up something that made us, as women, special to gain something that makes us, as people, common? I think, personally, that we should respect both the commonalities and the differences between the sexes, rather than trading what we are, the heart of the family, to try and prove what we're not: namely, inferior.

 

Uncoordinated

When I was a young girl, I went through periods of life when I was awkward and gangly. As the years passed, I grew more coordinated and became somewhat graceful as I began to master the movements of my limbs and the thoughts of my mind. But now, I feel awkward and gangly like a child; as though I'm going through some odd adult growth spurt. I haven't yet learned to adjust to my new proportions.

As a young adult, I felt I had come into my own. I felt confident in my skills and abilities. My years of training had come together to prepare me for a future that I watched being realized. Of course, I had not foreseen the particulars of my future. But though certain details morphed and changed, the direction I was headed in fit well with my idea of who I was.

But, in time, something changed. This change led to a chain reaction: a chain reaction of change. I had not imagined what would happen when I became a mother. How could I have known that I would find myself unacceptable and incompetent? How could I have guessed that I would want to change so much about myself?

On the day that I first realized I could not remain the person I had become, I began a journey into a future that I had never imagined for myself. And so, my graceful limbs began to stretch in a new direction. My thoughts and the way I reasoned grew into something I had never known. I became someone new, someone I had never met, and someone I had never even imagined.

Here I stand today in a new life facing an unfamiliar future. I am gawky in this life like a teenager, fumbling between a confusing child-likeness and an emerging maturity. I bounce between both, not really completely either. And I long for the grace I once had, if not the life. I yearn to be comfortable in my own skin and confident of my future.

And yet, in a way, I am more comfortable than at any other time in my life. I have traded bad for good, complacency for activity, common use for special use. I have traded an old life in on a new.

But this was not a future I had envisioned. I don't really know how I fit in this future or where it leads me. I never anticipated this use for my talents and training; they have not prepared me for this. And so I wait, not altogether patiently, for the day I regain my coordination.

Not Alone

My 9 year old came into our room the other night, so upset from a dream that woke him up that he couldn't speak. For a while, he refused to talk about it. He watched some television with us while he calmed down and relaxed. Before long, he softly said to me, "I'm ready to talk about it." Then, he proceeded to tell me his dream.

He was walking throughout the house looking for his brothers and for us, but we were not there. Then, he walked down to his grandfather's house. But he was not there either. In fear, he realized that he was alone. Everybody he loved and trusted to care for him was gone. His nightmare was that he was alone.

Don't we have that problem, those of us who believe in God? As we face the unknown, our lack of faith stems from a fear that God will ultimately not be there. I'm not saying that this is a fear that He doesn't exist. But sometimes we fear that He won't be there with us.

When money is tight in September and we don't know how we'll pay for our house note or rent in October, aren't we really afraid that God won't be there for us in October? God has promised to take care of us and provide for us in Matthew, Chapter 6:25-34 "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. "Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." Yet, we still worry about tomorrow.

We know God has taken care of us in the past. We know God has taken care of us today. We know logically that because God is faithful and always has been faithful, we can trust Him to be faithful in the future. But underneath the surface lies the fear, the one the prompts the nightmare, that when we go looking for God, He won't be there. What if the day we go looking for Him, we just don't find Him? What if one day, we're all alone?

Why do I bring this up? In a way, it's scandalous to suggest that a Christian might harbor this fear, even when trust and belief rest on the surface. How is it possible that both trust and fear lie in the same breast? I honestly don't have the answer to that myself... except to say that we remain human, even when touched by the divine. The fear occasionally sits side-by-side in my own heart and once rested in the heart of a man who spoke to Jesus, "Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, 'Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!'" (Mark 9:24)

My son knows that we will be here for him tomorrow. In fact, when he wakes up, he will expect it. During his waking hours, it would never occur to him that we would simply disappear. Yet underneath it all, that particular fear exists in him and most likely influences his behavior in ways we cannot imagine. Similarly, we consciously expect God to come through for us. Yet underneath it all, a small seed of doubt causes us to respond in ways that don't reflect what we consciously believe.

How do we combat this dangerous kernel of doubt? I would be lying if I suggested that I have mastered this fear myself. But I think Jesus gave us the keys to doing so. He definitely knew we would struggle with this the fear of abandonment. In a conversation on another issue, Jesus told His disciples, "whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:4) So what did my little child do when he encountered the nighttime evidence of this fear? He ran straight to us. He came crying into my arms. At the fear that we would not be there, he hurried to come find us. And he did find us.

When we grown-ups encounter our fear, do we run to God? I know that I am guilty of staying to myself. Sometimes, I cuddle my fear; afraid that if I run to find God, I won't find him. If my son had done the same, he would have stayed in his bed crying alone when my arms were nearby and ready to comfort him. How sad that we, as adults, sometimes lie crying in our beds, feeling alone, while God is ready to hold us in His arms and calm our fears with His Presence. How it must hurt Him, as a loving parent, when He longs to comfort us and we sit, instead, rocking in a corner hugging our knees refusing to get up and walk into His arms.

I thank you, God, that you are a God who reaches out to comfort us and stands ready and waiting to receive us into your arms. "For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'" (Hebrews 13:5)[and] "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:20)

Right Things for the Wrong Reason

"Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of people, to be seen by them. Otherwise, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So whenever you give to the poor, don't sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. I assure you: They've got their reward! But when you give to the poor, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you." – Matthew 6:1-4

When I was a younger woman, maybe even a teenager, I discovered this truth about myself: it made me feel good to do nice things for others. I used to make a point to do nice things, because I liked the way it made me feel. I felt good about myself while I was helping someone else. To me, it was the best of both worlds. In my mind, everyone benefitted.

But I was wrong. I didn't delude myself about my reasons for helping others; I always knew it was really about me. I just didn't understand what I was doing to myself. Helping others was simply another way for me to feed my own selfishness.

It doesn't sound like a bad deal, helping others to make yourself feel good. But it has the same fatal flaw as the belief that marriage is all about feeling love.; when it stopped feeling good, I didn't want to do it.

My help was fickle. It depended less on the other person's need and more on my desire to feel good about myself. But this is not true love. Christ's love taught me that. I am supposed to love others and consider them as more important that myself. If we all lived by Christian love, live would be a utopia. Crime and deception would disappear. Earth would be heavenly.

But this kind of love does not come naturally. The kind of love that does not depend on how I feel requires work, sacrifice and humility. For this reason, Christian love is an ideal that humanity will not achieve on its own. Not many people are willing to live this kind of life; not with the level of commitment that it requires. But this is what makes the love of Christ different. This is why He asks us to give our entire beings to Him. This is what He gave to us. And this is what we have to offer the world: a radical, beautiful, life-changing kind of love.

I challenge myself and anyone who reads this to show Christ to the world and commit to Him, to being like Him, to showing His love to the world and, by doing so, to make the world a better place.

Schizophrenic Blogger

I can't quite seem to commit. I keep changing my mind about what I want to put on this blog. I originally created this blog because I was doing Bible Study and wanted to put my thoughts and any works I created online. I have since decided to put many other things on this blog. In part, I've thought, "Well, who's interested in what I write on the Bible? Maybe I should put personal things on this blog." And so I did. But then I thought that I should do some writing about homeschooling and I still was doing Bible Study writing. In short, I haven't been able to decide what to do.

I created another blog, about homeschooling. But I haven't put anything up yet because I thought maybe multiple blogs would be too much. Then, I thought putting everything on this one blog would be confusing. I mean, is this about Bible Study, homeschooling, or my own family life? I know, I know, this is crazy.

Well, I have some Bible Study thoughts that I want to put up... just to see what anyone thinks. So, here I go. I am dedicating this blog strictly to Bible Study... and will write on separate blogs for homeschooling and personal life. If it's too much to ask of my friends to try to keep up with... I'm sorry. But, really, I write primarily for myself anyway... to keep up the skill.

And... there's a part of me that really wants to communicate with the masses, you know.

So, here goes... I have decided... this blog is dedicated!

Men Like Darcy and Leopold

I have read the book, Pride and Prejudice, and watched the movies and TV miniseries an untold number of times. For some reason, the story never gets old for me. Jane Austen was a genius with words and Pride and Prejudice was her masterpiece. No other book of hers has been more filmed, nor spawned more "sequels." But though Elizabeth is the heroine of the book, my fascination and the fascination of numerous authors centers on another character: Darcy.

Elizabeth intrigues us with her wit and her thoughts as she wades through nineteenth century life. She is like a friend; the kind of friend we would like to have or the kind of woman we would like to be. But Darcy remains largely a mystery to us. Yet, what we do know of him makes us want to know him more.

What are these mysterious qualities? Darcy is dignified, protective, honorable and willing to improve. He possesses timeless qualities which are admirable even though they are not fashionable in our day. These traits come together in such a way in Darcy, that he draws even us, the readers of any time, to him.

What do I mean? Darcy's dignity allows us to respect him, even when we disagree with him. Darcy doesn't lose his temper or act like a fool. In his mind, Darcy doesn't lose his temper or act like a fool. In his mind, Darcy is always representing something greater than himself: his family. And he is careful to act in such a way that he doesn't dishonor his family in the public arena. Even when Darcy is wrong, he is doing what he believes to be right.

Jane Austen writes love into Darcy's otherwise cold dignity. We read about the love and care he provides for his sister. He treasures her, worries about her and generously gives to her. He has taken his dual role as brother and guardian seriously and we see that a gentler Darcy exists in private; in a place we rarely get to see in the book.

Darcy's desire to do the right thing extends even to admitting he is wrong and taking action to remedy the situation. In Pride and Prejudice, we meet a Darcy that is proud and mistaken in his appraisal of those around him. But we watch him sacrifice a false sense of being right to achieve the goal of making things right. Ultimately, Darcy is willing to change in order to become a better man.

Leopold, from the movie, Kate and Leopold, shares some of Darcy's traits. Though Leopold's situation in life differs somewhat from Darcy's they share some of the qualities I've listed above. What we learn from Leopold is how such a man would interact with a 21^st century woman.

Kate and Leopold shows us the story of how a 19^th century Leopold leaps into the 21^st century. Along with making humorous discoveries about modern American life, Leopold falls in love with a modern American woman. As the story unfolds, we learn that Leopold's sense of dignity and honor extends to Kate. Leopold treats Kate with a great deal of respect, and he wonders when she does not treat herself with the same level of respect. He even tries to protect Kate from her unscrupulous boss, who tries to use his power to seduce Kate.

And what about Darcy? How does Darcy respond to women? The answer is that he treats them with no loess respect than he does men. Both men and women are equally open to condemnation or respect from Darcy. He even defers to his aunt and allows her dignity rather than exposing her foolishness; a grace which he also extends to Elizabeth's own mother, a decidedly foolish woman.

Darcy and Leopold are figments of someone's imagination. Yet, how many women long for a man she can respect? Many of us do. And we long for men who will treat us with respect, not because they have simply granted us some measure of equality or superiority, but because they treasure us.

Darcy and Leopold are men who honor the women they love because honor is something they value and because they believe the women they value deserve honor, alongside dignity, virtue and protection.

Oh, that parents would teach their sons about dignity, virtue honor and responsibility and that sons would embrace and adopt these traits as their own.