Monday, October 3, 2011

Why Would You Swim Upstream?

Do you ever feel like you're a little fish trying to swim upstream?  Some days it's as though every choice you make is contrary to everyone around you.  It's no wonder we get caught following ridiculous ideas or leaders before we even realize it.  It's hard to think and act from careful thought and reason.  And it's easy to assume that whoever yells the loudest is right.  I could cite evil (german) dictators, a pre-civil war america or the fast food coma we're slowing waking up from to prove it.



But we don't remember those kinds of things when we wake up in the morning and dive into the necessary but unexciting chores of the day.  All the voices of the media, culture and cynics rise like yeast into every corner of our mind, doing their best to convince us that love is a noun to be discovered instead of a verb to be perfected, fame and fortune is a destination instead of just another means to glorify God, and anything easy must be the solution.

You are never going to get everyone to agree with you, certainly not all the time.  So, if you (I) are waiting for the applause track to start every time a decision has been made, well don't hold your breath.  My feeling, for what it's worth, is that no matter how hard going against the grain is, there are some things that just matter more than what anyone thinks.  And sure, those 'things' are going to be different for different people (hence the not everyone agreeing).  I think the important thing is to make sure you aren't giving more power and value to ideas that you just went along with than to the priorities and people in your own life.  I'm the only mom and wife (Lord willing, ha) J and Mr. Butler will ever have.  This is the only life I have to live for God and, as far as I know, there aren't any do-overs. So, it's up to me to intentionally live my life, making decisions based on what I find and know to be valuable and not get discouraged if I'm not everybody's hero today.



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