And the epitaph reads:
“It never seemed dangerous, it never felt hot; the jacuzzi I loved was a cast iron pot!”
I see that every road is connected somewhere, or intersects with another. And at every connection, and every intersection, it matters which way we go.
Maybe a microscopic view of women’s roles in government isn’t as big to some; but when I look at this and many other issues, I see connectivity, and a profound need to carefully divide each principle.
I was sitting at a wedding recently. My first thought–and I hate to admit this–was, I wonder how long this will last? My second thought was, “I wonder why people even go through this ceremony?”…the empty rituals, the pretending, the yawning through prayer, just glad it’s almost over.
And as I try to convince myself that we will never go “that far”, I run across an article that articulated my worst fear. A woman admitting that for her, no “everyone” as she presumes, marriage is at best slightly less than painful. Here’s a quote:
“I contemplate divorce every day. It tugs on my sleeve each morning when my husband, Will, greets me in his chipper, smug morning-person voice, because after 16 years of waking up together, he still hasn’t quite pieced out that I’m not viable before 10 a.m….We were groomed to think bigger and better — achievement was our birthright — so it’s small surprise that our marriages are more freighted. Marriage and its cruel cohort, fidelity, are a lot to expect from anyone, much less from swift-flying us. Would we agree to wear the same eyeshadow or eat in the same restaurant every day for a lifetime? Nay, cry the villagers, the echo answers nay. We believe in our superhood. We count on it. So, did our feminist foremothers set us up for failure?”
Now back to my connectedness point.
We (Christians) are always saying things like, “I can’t believe what this world is coming to”. But we always say it WAY too late. We never see a destructive pattern early on and say, “Wait a minute…this will lead to no good thing.”
No, that would make us radical, right-winged, extremist, a group I might as well resign to belonging to 😉
We just can’t be pragmatic about each individual circumstance and think it won’t have graver consequences down the road!
A word, by the way, the Lord gave me about pragmatism (doing what is necessary to obtain the desired results, regardless of the principle of truth):
“You weirdo! It’s only warm–try it! It actually feels nice!”
And the epitaph reads:
“It never seemed dangerous, it never felt hot; the jacuzzi I loved was a cast iron pot!”
I’m probably not making any sense. It’s so many things…the issue of birth control, the issue of women rulers, and mothers leaving their homes for someone else to run, the issue of trying to erase gender roles, dating, government school–things are just swirling in my head. It seems so harmless, at the onset; and besides, who are we to “judge” or interfere in other’s personal lives? We are a body! If my arm is burning, I don’t refrain from plunging it into water because I don’t want to interfere”???!!!
“If only we could see how the warm water deceives!”
I hope you understand that this is the reason some may think I make really big deals out of things. It’s like I can see us, our nation, careening at break-neck speed toward a cliff, and most of the passengers are angry at anyone who tries to stop the train.
18 comments
Beautiful post! Amazing! I am so discouraged when it seems no one understands, even beloved fellow believers. In Christ, yet they are deceived and they don’t even know it. I guess that’s the thing about deception. Those who are deceived don’t know they’re deceived. It is painful to watch children of God believe lies, passively, and there is nothing we can do about it. Even if we tell them the truth, they still don’t see. “‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts.” Zechariah 4:6 As for the world, you’re right, all we can do is know they don’t understand. What will it take for them to see?
Spoken like a true prophet. I guess being misunderstood and maligned comes with the territory. Thank you for being faithful. Your arguments and perspective have been very helpful to me.
Heidi
Oh, you are so right about “connectivity” and seeing patterns rather than isolated events! It might not be a catastrophe now, but it will in the long term, especially as more women start doing similar things.
I don’t remember how I found your blog, except that it was linked from something regarding Sarah Palin in the last few days. I’ve really appreciated what you are saying and will definitely come back again.
I think your posts are absolutely wonderful! You tell the truth. A lot of times the truth is hard to swallow. I have the hardest time around fellow believers who say “the times are changing”. I am always the odd ball out of the group that question things. That’s okay, i’ll be the weird one, because God’s Word never changes. And that alone is all I need to stand on!
I hear the plea in your voice, and I agree completely.
Well said, WW. PRAGMATISM. One of my personal favorite words, too — one of my least favorite ideologies. The Biblical family IS indeed under attack — an attack that is NOT against “flesh and blood” (Eph. 6). As we wage war, let us remember who our enemies are — and who they ARE NOT. As we prayerfully and dilligently plead with God to spare our nation, let us also pray for those who lead us (1 Tim 2:1-3), whomever they may be. Thanks for thinking out loud:-)
Swirling…yup, that’s how my head feels too. I have been trying to make sense of it all and I keep coming back to your very well written blog. I don’t really see how so many Christians don’t understand the heart of the matter and don’t know their history. Satan often tries to divide Christians and he likes to do it in such subtle ways.
Our heart should be to please God and to please Him we should know His word. He never fails in giving us instruction and we DO have the Holy Spirit to guide us as well. If we are children of God and there is a “check” in our spirit about ANYTHING we are obligated to pray and seek the truth of the matter.
It doesn’t matter if things are well thought out or seem to be the best answer for all(the collective). If it doesn’t line up with scripture, then it is wrong. Period.
How does God feel about women ruling over men? What has been His track record of protecting women and children? What does He have to say about leadership in our homes?Why would that not apply to churches or business or the government? Does God’s heart change from one situation to the next? No. He remains the same.
Thank you, Kelly, for being consistant in your views. Your writing has been helpful at this time when I have had a “check” in my spirit about this whole Sarah Palin situation.
Blessings, Mama J
I understand, Kelly. I completely agree.
In Christ,
Rebekah H.
Iam “blog hopping” tonight, and I wanted to introduce myself! I love meeting women and reading about thier hearts and thoughts on blogs. Your blog is beautiful.
It’s nice to meet you!
A well stated swirl of thoughts : ) We agree and we agree. Amen and amen.
In Him,
Laralee
http://PlymouthRockRanch.com
Recording the Faithfulness and Provision of God for Future Generations
I’ve been following your blog for a little while now and I just wanted to say that I really enjoy your writing. I’ve even added you to my blog list 🙂 Thank you for your thoughts and observations.
I understand where your coming from. These are some of my same thoughts. thank you for putting this out there.
Thank you Kelly for using your gift to glorify the Lord. It is sad to see just how ingrained we are with feminism. Of course we all struggle with wanting our own way but when Christians stoop to calling names, yelling (all caps lock), and just flat out rudeness you have to wonder about their sincerity. It is OK to disagree about things, but all conversation should be done with humility and kindness. One can be bold and kind at the same time. ;o)
I love your arm on fire analogy. There is also the point that we are to be our “Brother’s Keeper”, which is a favorite line of Obama right now. ;o) Then there is the simple command of keeping with sound doctrine.
Be of good courage Sister!
Kelly,
Speaking of a dangerous pot… http://capwiz.com/afanet/issues/alert/?alertid=11856936&type=CO (CAUTION about that article and the links contained).
Anon,
I am utterly horrified…literally sick to my stomach, even trembling, and about to cry. I honestly can’t believe that.
AND…”how did we get this far?”
Well, somebody has to teach our children if there’s nobody at home to do it…
BTW…
This comment from a supporter of this outrageous production sums it up as well as any:
“Say what you like, but Planned Parenthood is doing good work. Most teenagers are different people when they are away from their parents. PP seems to have a clue about this subversive culture among teens and they speak that language. Someone’s got to.”
Someone’s got to…why is PP so agressive to pick up the slack, instead of Christians rising up to the task of upholding God expressed Word which would solve the core of the problems in the first place???
“I’m probably not making any sense . . . ” I can understand your view point and it makes sense to me.
I was horrified about the quote that woman made about marriage (the one you found in an on-line article), yikes! What kind of mess is that?
Anyway, we have to remember that it’s God that changes hearts and lives. Individuals have to be “in-tune” with the Lord in order to “see the light.” We can always warn people with our words, but it is going to take God to open their eyes. Unfortunately, some people like to continue life with their eyes closed. All we can do is pray that someday they will “see the light” before it’s too late.
I am thinking the same thoughts Kelly. That is why I came to your blog just now. I understand and some others, including you, do to.