Ruminations and Ramifications

More than wind on the prairie...

There are so many things flashing through my mind at any given moment. Sometimes I wish I had a way to jot them all down in their fullness without losing a single facet to their essence. But alas, I haven't yet developed a system that would capture every last thought and hold it captive until a suitable resting place for it could be found.

So I'll just have to remember best I can...

There are many good things to be said about boundaries. Sometimes, it is okay to leave some things unsaid. And sometimes it is okay to get angry. I'm learning a lot in this journey through adulthood. Currently, the most important lesson is that I was wrong about marriage. I used to think that marriage was primary to life, and sex was primary to marriage. It seems that I had it all backwards. Indeed, LIVING is primary to life. Discovering who you are is primary to life. Understanding yourself in relation to God and to others is primary to life. Getting to know who you are, THAT is something to consider. Marriage has nothing to do with it. If you can't figure out the primaries beforehand, your marriage is likely headed for rocky ground. I think as women we are taught that we should WANT to get married and if we aren't, well, God loves us anyway. Just because we're apparently undesireable by members of the opposite sex doesn't make us undesireable to God and unusable by Him.

I am currently wearing out my (pirated) copy of In Search of Sunrise 3. In the middle of the set, this voice cuts in and shouts "And the Bible says 'Your body is the temple'.... LIVE!!!!" I had never put the two together before. I am sure that the sampling was done in such a way as to take the whole thing out of context, but really it isn't.

We are taught that by our body being the temple, we should refrain from certain questionable activities. Sex and drugs are those first two nemeses. Perhaps alcohol and rock music if you're really up to it.

But if our body IS indeed the temple, what are we doing with our hands, our minds, our passions that entail serving God by.... LIVING?! I am not just making my body a temple by keeping my temple "clean", but I'm also making my body a temple by going for broke, by enjoying everything God has planned for me. By living with gusto I am making a pleasing temple for the Lord, too. By being a passionate person about my job, about my relationships, about my talents and interests, I am making my body a living temple for the Lord.

So, if I'm so worried about keeping things OUT of my temple, when do I find time to discover what to do WITH my temple??? Why don't I release that camera shutter a bit more often? Why don't I pick up the violin and improvise with my song bank once in a while? Why don't I put down mindless pursuits and pick up a pursuit that will CHALLENGE my mind? What am I so afraid of? Failure?

Why are we so afraid to fail? Why do we dig holes for even that one tiny talent that is actually so managable, but which we see as either a burden or a chance for failure? Why do we prioritize so that the "sure bets" in our life have greater importance than the "risks" that are a way for us to build that temple? Why do we skip out on chances to glorify God with our bodies, all the while focusing on restrictions?

Labels: marriage, this is me before

posted by Marcian @ 1:17 AM