So, apparently I was wrong about the first day of Lent. Hehe. That's embarrassing. I don't know what was going through my head. There have been a lot of personal things going on; too personal to blog about without serious time to think, and too important to take that time out for. But I'll touch on some of the less important things.
Sierra wrote about activism fatigue the other day, and that's something I am definitely feeling. I'm tired of attempting meaningful conversations with family members, only to find out more and more things we disagree strongly on. I had a conversation with my Dad the other day that was terribly disappointing; I always thought of him as the sensible, reasonable parent. I guess I was wrong. I'm tired of Facebook for the same reason. It provides too many opportunities for finding out how outrageous some of my loved ones' opinions and beliefs are. It took me so many years to be willing to speak up about my own beliefs; and now that I have started to, it's very embittering to put all that effort into a sensible argument only to be told that the facts cannot be true because ______ (insert random Bible verse here); or that my experiences are invalid because ______ (same idea). Sometimes I can hardly believe I share a planet with them, let alone the name of "Christian."
My family's biggest philosophical flaw is their belief that most people are as thoughtful and discreet in their actions as themselves. They couldn't be more wrong. And as evidenced dramatically in the argument with my Dad, when it comes to personal rights they want to take ideals and standards that can only be handled responsibly by persons of the HIGHEST moral integrity, and apply them across the board. A recipe for disaster in every way. Most frustrating is that even in the face of their children's experiences, they will insist their way was best and the outcome has been some sort of unforseeable exception.
Anyway, I won't be on Facebook for a while. I'm starting classes in two weeks, I need to get back to seeing my counselor before I start freaking out on people, and my oldest needs to see a psychiatrist. (My parents would probably recommend the wooden or leather kind, which would only drive us further apart, so add that to the list of THINGS I CAN'T TALK ABOUT WITH RELATIVES. Most of my personal life is on it at this point.) The boys and I are going to start family counseling as well. We have several things coming up with school, and my Innocent Spouse Relief was approved, so when that money comes back I plan to enroll the boys in some sports activities to help with their issues. I need a break from reading about how horrible the world can be, and hearing others insist it's not so. Or worse, that it's only so because we aren't all being better Christians. I'm tired of all the dissertations on how evil society is by those who laud themselves on being separate. If you want to know what's actually going on in society, TRY LIVING IN IT!!! Spend more time being the change and less time vilifying the lack of it.
My parents think today's social problems are the result of undisciplined children. They're not. The problems we see today are the result of a culture that promotes self-indulgence and mocks self-discipline, choosing instead to discipline the lives of others and compound the problem. Funny that as soon as you point this out, you're accused of overstepping your boundaries. It's perfectly acceptable to have a 60-minute sermon on the faults of society and of other churches/Christians/leaders; but try to say that God doesn't command you to beat your children, and suddenly you're a judgmental, nosy liberal who probably hates the Constitution too. I hear the complaint a lot that when it comes to children, we've become "a nation full of experts." Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black!
You know that verse, Proverbs 19:18, that says in the KJV, "Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying." I was curious to see how it read in the Orthodox Bible, which uses the Septuagint version of the Old Testament. I was floored by the difference. It reads, "Instruct your son, for thus he shall be hopeful, but do not lift up your soul in arrogance."
Talk about lost in translation. I'm starting to think most of what Christ came for has been lost in translation by now.
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