Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Ruined, But In A Good Way

I made a quick run through the Super Mega Low Mart tonight and it set my mind a-spinning.

The clothing department featured a t shirt with the beloved rendering of "Jesus Strangling the Children". I looked for some time to find the exact picture, but I couldn't. You'll know it from the wall of your childhood Sunday school room or, if you went to OBU, from the walls of your friend's apartment (and I'm serious). He's supposed to be blessing them, but it looks more violent. Anyhow, the picture has a caption: No Prayer Too Small.

My head springs into action. I think some prayers are too small. The prayers that we win the football game, the prayer of the girl on my hall in WMU when she would ask what to wear every day, the prayers of eleven year old me that Scott Baio would get saved (yes, I did, don't mock me, I got over it.). Those prayers are small. We should be praying bigger prayers.

As I walked down another aisle and saw teenagers in Falls Creek shirts playing with a walker. A boy with sassy shaggy model hair pretended to walk with a bad knee and making what he thought were old man noises. If you've followed my summer saga at all, you can imagine how un-funny I find this. I wanted to a. correct this young man's shoddy impression and b. chastise his lack of compassion for the old and handicapped (I also entertained a c. take the walker home to dad. It was a really nice one. No tennis balls.).

I checked out of the Mega Low wondering if I had totally lost my sense of humor. Do I really have to deconstruct everything? Can I ever give it a rest and just do a bit of shopping? The answer is nope, probably not. You, internet friends, are partially to blame for this flaw. I started with a bit of this tendency and it's only solidified over the past year or so. But I have found the good in this dilemma. In deconstructing, I have finally begun to construct. I like to hope I have cleared away enough brush to see what it is I want. I have been in church somewhere for every Sunday in June. That's big. I haven't been to a perfect church, but I can start to question the questionable and appreciate the good. I can finally get over the uglies and start to look for the Kingdom. My picture of this Kingdom is a bit idealized, and I'm not likely to find all its parts in one place, but I like it that way. I think I'm keeping it.

4 comments:

Scott Jones said...

very nice

Anonymous said...

I like this last paragraph a lot.

Scott Baio, hunh? I'm embarrased to say this, but my childhood-teenage prayer list included, Ace Frehley of KISS and Jon Bon Jovi (I mean come on, "Living on a Prayer?" He was half-way there, right?)

I was encouraged when i was eleven years old, reading a teen beat mag and there was a bio of Ace Frehley. Under the category of religion it said "Baptist." I remember taking the article to school to show to my 5th grade teacher, who, knowing I was a Christian like her, pulled me aside on the way to recess to inform me that KISS stood for "Kids In Satan Service." She thought I would might like to know. I don't think the article convinced her. --Tim (www.anabaptistmonk.org)

Anonymous said...

Being the age I am my prayers included Illya Kuryakin (David McCallum). I never missed an episode of "The Man From U.N.C.L.E."

NK

educat said...

Thanks to all for sharing. It's good to know I am not alone in my sad past.