“Oh my god,” she said, and to her it meant absolutely nothing. It was a placeholder, another way of saying “What?” in that sarcastic tone I know she means when she pretends to be innocent. But she knows what she’s doing and saying. She knows that I’m not pleased when I put my hands on … Continue reading “Oh My God.”
Sometimes I imagine what it would have been like to be a fly on the wall in some nondescript building in Nazareth shortly after the conception of Jesus Christ. Think about it. She was already engaged to a working man, a carpenter named Joseph, who already knew she was a virgin when they were courting, and she had to find a time and place to explain to him that she was pregnant. It was obviously not his kid, and she had to know how ludicrous it would all sound, but there were no options for her. It was like a Band-Aid. She had to rip it off quickly and hope he wasn’t grossed out by the wound.
Mary {walking in the door}: Joe, we need to talk.
Joseph: Let me guess. You want to call off the wedding? I already called the dove guy. He’s got 100 birds ready and waiting.
Mary {shaking her head}: No, no. But you might want to call it off yourself after you hear what I have to tell you.
Joseph: The last time you said something like that it was because you sold your prize goat that was supposed to part of your dowry. But that was cool with me, and I’m sure this will be too.
Mary: Joe, this isn’t even remotely like selling a goat. I wish it was, honestly.
Joseph: Okay, Mare, now you’ve got me worried. Just spit it out and we’ll deal with it. Together.
Mary: Just remember that I’ve never lied to you before. Please keep that in mind because this may be a bit fantastic to hear. Heck, I would think I was crazy if I wasn’t there myself to see what happened.
Joseph: Mare, have you been drinking the mead from behind the temple again? Continue reading “The Immaculate Conversation”
I guess we all go through our lives thinking that others know what we’ve gone through, assuming that our experiences are tacked up on our faces like so many notices on a board, or at least we don’t really think about where others come from so we assume the same when it comes to them. … Continue reading Growing Up Seventh-Day Adventist: Questioning
“Well, I used to stand for something. Now I’m on my hands and knees, turning in my god for this one, and he signs his name with a Capital G.” ~Nine Inch Nails You know god, the guy in the sky who looks down over us and says stuff like “It’s good.” From the time … Continue reading Capital G
“But this time, Jesus, how can I be sure I would not lose my follow through between the altar and the door?” ~Casting Crowns There is a space between spirituality and religion. It is the space that I inhabit. Ask most people and they can tell you where they stand on religion. There are 4 … Continue reading The Space Between
“Yeah, I found God and he was absolutely just like me. He opened my mouth, looked down my throat, and told me I was thirsty.” -Ed Kowalczyk
I thought I knew who God was, back when I was little. My parents taught me to pray to this supreme being, this ruler of the universe. They taught me that God was always there for me, that He answered my prayers, even if sometimes the answer was no, or wait. And I couldn’t wrap my brain around someone who wasn’t able to be seen, who didn’t speak to me like my friends spoke to me, but they told me that He was my best friend, and that He was to be honored at all times, through my actions and through my words.
The first time I said a bad word I thought God was going to knock me dead right there on the spot. And when I snuck out to the movies with my sister against His teachings, I thought the world was going to come crashing down on my head, because not only did my parents teach me that God was there for me, but they told me that He was also firm.
Of course the Bible did nothing to dispel either one of these primary assertions, either. In the Old Testament the God I saw was unyielding, the firm God that was liable to strike me down for swearing or for sneaking out to the movies. While in the New Testament the God I saw was represented by his “son,” Jesus Christ, who was for the most part non-violent and spoke in a quiet but effective voice. Which one was the real God, the tough one who took no guff, or the one who was slow to anger and who believed in second chances? They were both supposed to be, but I could never reconcile it.
Interestingly enough, no one else could reconcile it for me either. And I asked everyone. What I did get from all the searching was that God is simply unfathomable, in both who He is and in why He does what He does. Simply put, that means don’t question Him or His motives because we will never know. I found it ironic, though, because God supposedly gave us free will, and a questioning nature, but when it comes to Him we aren’t ever going to know. And we should be alright with that. Apparently.
“I don’t know if God exists, but it would be better for his reputation if he didn’t.” -Jules Renard
For a while I honestly didn’t know if God existed. I bought into the whole idea that people wouldn’t be dying in Ethiopia or Chicago if there was a God who truly cared about them, that women wouldn’t be raped, and that there would be no hardships in life. If there were a God, and if that God honestly loved everyone as the good book says, then why did bad things happen to good people? And it all came back to free will. Continue reading “God is Just Like Me”
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Soprano
A Writer's Journey
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Exploring life, love, lifting, and (almost) literally everything else, frequently aided by laughter and libations
Just a small town girl who writes about Christian stuff.
Strategic freelance writer specializing in online content, articles, web copy, & SEO.
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