Beautiful
This morning, i took time to just breathe. I meandered my way to school, looking up at the sky. After class, I took the long way home and plucked some lilacs from bushes to smell on my way home, breathing deeply of the exotic fragrance. When I was a child, I asked God to make sure there was the hugest lilac bush ever in my front yard in heaven, and then scattered all over my backyard and mansion. And a waterfall. I love the sound of water falling. Who doesn't?
This afternoon, I went shopping at the dreaded Wal-Mart. I was so desperate for food though since I haven't been shopping in over a month! I was shaking from hunger, so I raced home, fulfilling my promise not to eat until I had a hearty soup made: acorn-squash soup base, potatoes, sauted yellow squash and onion, homemade buttered-bread--it WAS worth the wait to get a decent home-made down-home cookin' meal. I truly believe my stomach has shrunk, because eating a small bowl of soup felt like way too much. Not cool. I am wasting away.
Then Janelle, Charis, Christa, and I headed to Starbucks, and a Grande Mocha later, it was 9:30 p.m. and we had slogged through some heavy conversation: casting out demons (scccaaarrreeee), marriage (scccccaaaarrrreeeee), politics (sccccaaarrreeee), and other such grisly topics, all very fascinating and thought provoking. I went to "study" for my test (which I am supposed to be doing now as well!!!!) but instead I explored myself and life.
Why is the thought of marriage so depressing? Why do people have such a limited view of relationships? Why do people demonize others instead of trying to understand them? How come small churches are so critical and closed-door to society that the only reason you go out to make friends with "them" is to save them? The real people you are bosom buddies with are other remnant people like yourself. Why can't people be accepting of their significant other to let them be free instead of trying to mesh or conform into some conglomerate "other" that is neither? Why do so many Christians view the text, "And the two shall become one," as the woman submitting to the man, and the "one" IS the man? Why do people ignore those overseas whose lives are a perpetual hell, but when something bad happens here in the States (aka Katrina, 9/11) it is a sign of the "end" when these are minor events compared to the genocides in Africa (aka Darfur)?
I have my opinions. But I do not fully know. But for the first time, I don't have to know--I can embrace life and the discrepanies of it. I asked the ladies tonight, "Wouldn't it be more simpler if life WERE black and white, like it was when we were children?" and then I answered my own question. Life would be scary if it were black and white. It would be a perpetual darkness over the land if that were fully carried out in life. I am glad it is not so.
I love having friends who I can bounce ideas off, philosophize about life with, and listen to them, share experiences, and drink some Starbucks coffee. Life is fascinating.
Beautiful.
posted by Qwerty @ 11:31 PM
5 Comments:
Thank you. Feedback is always welcome. And yours was particularly true.
I think that today's Christian 20somethings are getting fed up with the Religious right more and more. And I'm quite fine with that.
It's not the "two become one" verse that means the wife submits to the husband. It's in Ephesians 5:22, which can never be seperated from the context of 5:25. Wives must submit, but husbands must love as much as Christ loved (think serving, sacrifice, etc.).
Keep thinking for yourself. It's a rare thing in this world.
In ancient Jewish oral tradition, God actually split Adam in half, creating his equal, in Woman. There, the two were one, because they were an equalized whole, but then again, that was in heaven, a state of perpetual perfection :) and not on earth where its a state of perpetual SOMETHING--hell, heaven--SOMETHING.
Our society seems to have taken the texts waaaaaay out, without realizing that the Bible was set in a social era where the CULTURE was not condusive to women, like Eve, being man's equal.
Maybe that text isn't in referral to woman in all generations, in all cultures and socities, that women, from now until eternity, are to be submissive to man, but rather to the time period of two thousand years ago?
Not that I'm a rebellious person (ok, sometimes) but I want someone my equal. I've met many of the male species who are inferior to me. I wouldn't loook at them twice. Some are superior, and we won't go there. Some, for instance, my brother :O) would LIKE to think he is the patriarchial man in the family and therefore I need to be subservient to him because this is what the Bible tells women to do.
AHEM.
In a perfect progressive society (which ours isn't perfect, but in SOME aspects it is progressive) I think God would have women and men be equal, as a team.
Both submit. Both compromise. Both love as Christ loved.
I dunno.
I guess I don't need to know everything. But I am very inquisitve, and perhaps heretical too :O). Oh well.
So, since you are here, introduce yourself. I was asking Brandon about you and he said he never met you before!
Hi. I'm Jen. I'm a senior at a college in washington state, history major, english minor. I see you are already involved in Invisible Children stuff, so there, we find our commonalities. I am the President of Amnesty International, and my cohort Brandon is the Vice President, chosen by the dictator herself, ME :).
It is late Friday afternoon, and my apartment is a mess, so I bid you adieu to go and clean!!!! I love to clean, because it bugs me waaaaay too much to have a messy apartment.
See you around.
~Jen
Very interesting, Jen - I don't have answers, but I read and understand your questions. I'll keep exploring and let you know if I find anything...
Hi! I am Arthur, the future cook for Amnesty International (or so I've been told :p )
So anyway Jen, your comments were interesting and insightful as always... or maybe just inciteful???
As far as marriage, I think it goes without saying that each must compromise, share, and submit to eachother. Also, I think that the word "submit" has taken on a negative meaning that it was never intended to have in this context. I think it implies trust, and acting for the betterment of the other.
Spending almost a year in Russia has given me a different point of view about life. The more educated we are, and the more we travel outside of our own country, the more we can see of the whole picture of the world, and the picture of humanity. I now appreciate the complexity of the world much more. Also, I see that the world is not black and white in the slightest. It isn't even shades of gray, but a rainbow of colors, intricacies and paradoxes. Also, there are many ideas with elements of truth. I think it's seldom that something is totally right/totally wrong, or wholly good/wholly evil, etc. So yeah, life is good, and it was not meant to be black and white, but an eternal adventure to live through and enjoy as it unfolds. No need to let it worry you either. To quote the movie I watches last night, "In the end, the universe tends to unfold as it should."
"It isn't even shades of gray, but a rainbow of colors, intricacies and paradoxes."
WOW. I seriously appreciate what you had to say, Excalibur. That was so extremely profound and beautifully put.
"In the end, the universe tends to unfold as it should."
I cannot really comment back to you because you said it so beautifully, that to pick your words apart would be a semi-desicration of the beauty of language.
I do believe that I have no need of educating you guys about this topic, because I think you already view females as equals on the whole--sure, there are dumb women, but I know you know there are dumb men.
And I need to clarify one aspect of this little sub-subject: it is more women repressing themselves than men believing women should be forced into a certain mould. Women tend to have more of a screwed up view that they must submit, even to the submission of their personalities, or identity, to their man. It is rare you find a male who wants this or believes this, but it is quite common to find a female who believes this is her role.
So it is more of an "inciteful" argument against women per se than men--so no, I am not a lesbian, I am not a bra-burner, I do not wear my rainbow colors of Gay pride, I am not a femi-nazi, I am not a man-hater :O) but you guys already knew that about me.
I am an inquisitive individual, seeking to find my own two feet, my own role in society, and shape who I am as an individual. And I do this by questioning, and getting feedback from my friends, which is why blogging, and Starbucks, are two wonderfully God-given blessings to mankind ;).
Happy Sunday peoples!
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