Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Am I a Failure?

Three years ago, I graduated from highschool.

That means for three years I have been qualifying myself to answer the questions, "Did homeschooling work? Were you undersocialized? Overprotected? Was the "real world" a shock?"

As a child, I did school at the kitchen table. I didn't spend a lot of time with peers. And I was was kept from the full knowledge of what evil can be. That includes being kept from movies, songs, and magazines that were typical among others my own age.

Yes. I was sheltered.

From the shelter of my home and church, however, I was taught some fundemental truths that make me who I am. I don't know that I would have learned them any other way...

1) Evil is evil is evil is evil. I was taught to recognize and resist evil. Evil is like poison. You don't need to know the name of every poison in order to learn not to drink poison. You need only learn to read the label on the bottle and to be taught the self discipline to refrain from drinking.

2) Only what's done for Christ will last. I was taught to want the gold of life. Life is like digging for treasure. You can spend a lot of time digging and never find anything, or you can look at the map. Just because you dig a hole doesn't mean there's going to be treasure at the bottom. Some holes are worth digging, and some are a pure waste of time.

3) Others may, I cannot. I was taught that saying "no" to poison can be uncool, and that treasure hunting can be a lonely business. Standing alone is like fresh white snow. Some people respect your purity. Some people just want to walk on you and dirty you if possible. But no matter what happens, your job is to be snow. That is what you are.

It has been a couple of years now that I have lived life in the "real world."

I spend more time interacting with adults than I do with my peers. I spend more time with non-Christians than with Christians. I manage my own money and make life-impacting decisions. I love my family. I know that life is short, and I have a purpose in living. I am willing to pay a price to live my life for Jesus.

And...I'd like to homeschool my children someday.

Sunday, May 28, 2006

An (isolated) Incident

There are disadvantages to doing any kind of remodelling.

Disadvantages like, you can't find anything you own. Among the items lost amid my shuffle was an unopened canister of raisins. I bought them at Wal-Mart to take as a snack to work. I had a few raisins left in my old canister which I have been zealously saving until such time as my brand new container should materialize.

There is a point to this story.

Last Monday, I had a bad headache. Dad kindly gave me two advil to knock it out. I took only one of them since that is usually enough to get me back on my feet, then I put the other one into my raisin canister. The almost empty one.

Hey, it was the only handy canister in sight.

So Saturday my new, unopened canister of raisins turned up in the pile of laundry room "stuff."

(Don't ask.)

I was hungry at the moment, so I immediately decided it was as good a time as any to finish off my old raisins. Accordingly I sat down to have a small snack.

The raisins were very good. Smiling contentedly, I put the last few into my mouth. There was something hard in the middle. I wondered vaguely what it was, but not for long....

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

We've Had Issues

Wonder why I haven't posted lately?

I could string off my excuses, but I'd rather count my blessings.

For one, we now have hot, running water in 2/3d's of the sinks in the house and I'm as happy as a...duck??

It all started a couple of weeks ago when I was sick in bed. And my grandparents were visitng from out of town. And we were painting the bedrooms. And tearing out panelling in the living room. And the guys came to remodel the bathroom.

In fact, our house looked--and felt--like nothing less than a disaster zone. As if someone had taken everything in the house, thrown it into the middle, and stirred it with a big spoon, then covered it in dropcloths, an inch and a half layer of dust, and some splashes of wet paint.

The situation wasn't truly desparate, however, until the hot water tank started leaking all over the laundry room floor. That was shortly before the kitchen sink started spraying water out of the back side instead of the faucet.

(In proof of human adaptability, Dad's commentary on the subject was, "It couldn't happen at a better time.")

While waiting for the hot water heater to be replaced, we happily reverted to the bathroom sink, grateful that we had a hot water heater for each end of the house. That was before the pipes underneath the bathroom sink came to a watery end. The soggy toilet paper underneath the sink and an assortment of shampoos and soaps were added to the disorganized pile of "stuff" scattered about the house, and the bathroom sink was turned off for a few days.

In the process of restoring us to civilized society, the "workers" turned our water on and off sporadically for several days.

And, incidentally, the heat in the bedrooms.

Maybe this doesn't sound very uncomfortable to you.

But I assure you we were about ready to dial 1-800-RED-CROSS.

But, not to complain. We're more or less back to normal, other than one bathroom being torn out and half of our stuff being piled together and covered in 2 inches of dust and dropcloths. And I developed a gratefulness for water that only slightly surpasses my gratefulness for paper plates.

Pizza, anyone?

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Going For Gold

"Try not to let the glitter of the moment keep you from the gold of life."
- "Dear Abbie" style advice by columnist Carolyn Van Wyck to a reader of "Photoplay" magazine, 1926

How many of today's pleasures will be tomorrow's ashes?

It is worth considering.

Because glitter is pretty. And real gold is rare. And in the spotlight of the moment, it's hard to tell gold and glitter apart.

Lately, as I have settled into a new community and a new job, I have accomplished many worthy goals. And, to me, accomplishing a goal is a sparkling moment.

But have I been more focused on the transitory goals of today than on the long-term goals the Lord has for my life? For His kingdom? For my growth and maturity into one who is more like His own Son?

Yes, I have.

And in so doing, I have been cheating myself of the gold of life.

For when I feel I've done a job well, that is glitter.

But to look forward to His "well done, good and faithful one"...that is gold.