Studying the Patriarchs in Genesis has me mulling tonight. Mulling over how very human they were. Gnawing on their personalities, their viewpoints, and their circumstances. Which of course, leads me back to...well, me. Surprise! Despite my very human emotions, needs, and shortcomings of all kinds, I still have to "act" like a Christian. I have to behave in a way that I might not exactly
feel like behaving in the moment. I might have to say something nicer that what I'm actually feeling. Perhaps I will find myself not wanting to be kind to a particular person in the grocery store line that thinks it's his turn to check out when in fact my turn is not quite over and he's irritatingly all up in my grill. In my space. One of the hardest, hardest things to do is to is keep my chin up all the live long time through life's little aggravating moments. I guess what I'm getting at (finally! I hear you gasp) is that as flesh and blood people it is such a struggle to "make nice" all the time. Sometimes I just want to not be nice. I want to be rude and tacky and speak my exact mind. I want to scream at the slow turner ahead of me "are you driving or camping out?"... T
herein lies the struggle; trying to keep it together enough to stay quiet. The people in Genesis are an inspiration to me because hey, they too struggled to keep it together but sometimes just flat didn't. They deceived each other, killed enemies (yep, uh huh they did) stole wives, seduced servants, sold brothers, nabbed birthrights, lied, tricked family members, got drunk, and framed each other. They were an unseemly crew but did that stop God's will from being done in their lives??? No. That makes me feel better, doesn't it you?? Just mulling it over tonight while listening to the rain.
Studying the Patriarchs in Genesis has me mulling tonight. Mulling over how very human they were. Gnawing on their personalities, their viewpoints, and their circumstances. Which of course, leads me back to...well, me. Surprise! Despite my very human emotions, needs, and shortcomings of all kinds, I still have to "act" like a Christian. I have to behave in a way that I might not exactly feel like behaving in the moment. I might have to say something nicer that what I'm actually feeling. Perhaps I will find myself not wanting to be kind to a particular person in the grocery store line that thinks it's his turn to check out when in fact my turn is not quite over and he's irritatingly all up in my grill. In my space. One of the hardest, hardest things to do is to is keep my chin up all the live long time through life's little aggravating moments. I guess what I'm getting at (finally! I hear you gasp) is that as flesh and blood people it is such a struggle to "make nice" all the time. Sometimes I just want to not be nice. I want to be rude and tacky and speak my exact mind. I want to scream at the slow turner ahead of me "are you driving or camping out?"... T
herein lies the struggle; trying to keep it together enough to stay quiet. The people in Genesis are an inspiration to me because hey, they too struggled to keep it together but sometimes just flat didn't. They deceived each other, killed enemies (yep, uh huh they did) stole wives, seduced servants, sold brothers, nabbed birthrights, lied, tricked family members, got drunk, and framed each other. They were an unseemly crew but did that stop God's will from being done in their lives??? No. That makes me feel better, doesn't it you?? Just mulling it over tonight while listening to the rain.
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