"If you could be known as the World's Greatest __________, what would you want to be known as?"
I'd been thinking about it a lot, and there are a couple answers that came to mind very quickly, but I didn't feel like I could sum it up into a one or two word answer. Maybe I expect too much from myself, maybe I hold my abilities as more highly attainable than they actually are, or maybe the once quoted, "I'd rather shoot for the stars and miss than aim for a pile of doggy do and hit" has just stuck with me. At any rate, I was thinking how much I want to be just like Chalene. In her quasi-celebrity standing, she really seems like she's got it all together. She's positive, fit, successful, publicly she is an outstanding mom and wife, she's very motivated and energetic, almost everything I hope to be myself. I say, almost, because she's not a follower of Christ, or I've at least not seen any indication of that in anything I've known of her. So, I look at her and I think, I want to be just like you, but BETTER. I want to be a personal trainer, and when I look at the way she's done it and the cult following she has, I feel like she's an awesome person to emulate, I see her energy and positive attitude--and while it very well maybe speed--I desire that for myself too (the positive attitude, not the drugs!) So, I look at her and she's got all of the professional success stuff down, and she bridges into the personal success with her public parenting being top notch, but I think that there's an even better example of relational and faith based success and that's the Proverbs 31 woman.
I feel like it's important to note that I don't assume that there is qualitative or quantitative measure of success or failure in the Christian walk--except by the measure of professing to be a follower of Christ and living in a way that would taint the message whereas actually preventing people from establishing a relationship with Him--but I do feel like there are certain characteristics of individuals that we can look at and think, that's how it should be done. Much like my obsession with Chalene, I am completely consumed by my desire to be like the woman described in Proverbs 31. After completing a Bible study a few months ago on 'Biblical Beauty' where she was referred to as the "ideal woman," I can't think of anything I'd rather be more. Looking strictly at the language element of that title...ideal, what is better than that? She really is the BEST mom and wife, not just portrayed that way in the little 5 minute vignette after the workout where you "get to know your trainer" and it creates the dynamic of look at my perfect life and family and home and if you do this workout you'll be just like me, perfect, thin, beautiful, successful, with perfect children, a perfect husband, and a perfect multimillion dollar home in southern California with his and hers gas guzzling SUVs and millions of friends. The BIG difference here is that the ideal woman didn't write Proverbs 31 about herself, her money didn't go to the production company to script, film, edit and produce the perfect glimpse into her life. She didn't go around looking for fame, but she got it just by being an amazing woman. It says that her kids talked about what a great mom she was, her husband was successful because of her support, even this chapter is King Lemuel conveying the message that his mother taught him about what to look for in a wife. This woman's reputation is remarkable! AND SHE LOVES THE LORD!! No matter how many days or weeks or even months have gone by since I completed that study, I literally every day think about how I can be more like that woman, which makes it even more frustrating when I see all of the popular negative representations of women and the marriage dynamic.
I know that most of it is portrayed in ways that are intended to be joking and is simply an effort to poke fun at the hormonal state of women and make light of the monthly mood swings, but it's frustrating and potentially even damaging to the marriage relationship when these attitudes and states are portrayed as normal. I recently read something that said something along the lines of "In a marriage there is the wrong way to do things, and then there is the wife's way" and the, "I'm king of the castle when she's not around" "Happy wife, happy life" all of these things which paint the role of a wife to be this horrible manipulating dictator. Then I watch shows like "Everybody Loves Raymond" or "King of Queens" and see the role that the wives on these shows play as nagging and pushy and crabby and complaining and the men are made out to be the bad guy because they are causing her to be this way!?! It makes me angry, because this isn't normal, this isn't the role we were intended to fill as wives, or mothers, this isn't even the good enough role, this is bordering on the barely passable as acting wife and/or mother. Just because you exchange vows and rings doesn't make you a good wife, and the carrying of a life in your womb makes you no more of an adequate mother and caregiver than picking up a stray puppy off the side of the road. These are roles that require effort, training and constant determination to do better, just like aiming for constant promotions in the work place. This is the reason why there are millions of books out there like "The Power of a Praying Wife/Mother" "Nurturing the Leader Within Your Child" "Fall In Love, Stay In Love" "For Women Only" All of these training manuals per se on how to keep getting better at what you do. I want to do that!! I want to fill that role!! I want to be just like that woman that King Lemuel's mother described, I want to fulfill the roles that God has appointed to me so well that others take note and say, I want to be like HER! This is not because I'm vain, or I want to be a celebrity, fame is by all means the very last thing that I desire for my life. I like to keep my personal affairs private and that's not possible in the case of celebrity, I want to be like the woman in my life whom I feel exemplifies all of these properties, the woman whom I hope to someday be like, I want to be that woman for some other woman, or even more importantly for my daughters.
The band Everclear has a song called "Everything to Everyone" which talks about a woman whom they ridicule because she tries to be everything to everyone, but I don't think that's a bad thing, per se. I want to be everything to everyone who I have a duty to, to my husband, I want to be EVERYTHING that a wife can be, to my children I want to be EVERYTHING that a mother can be, to the students I help to lead in youth ministry, I want to be EVERYTHING that a youth leader can be, to the individuals that I will someday train, I want to be EVERYTHING that personal trainer can be, the same goes as a daughter, sister, friend and most importantly follower of Christ. Even Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:22 "I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some." You see, if I am not in the practice of putting my everything into all things, I will not put my everything into the things that mean the most. I will not put my everything into reaching others for the sake of the gospel. Christ deserves our very best for the sake of all that He has given for us, and what better way to honor and celebrate the blessings of the roles that He has placed me in than to give them my very best?!
So, I guess it comes back around to this. When I think about what "World's Greatest" I want to be, I can't give it a simple answer, but I suppose I could sum it up like this...I want to be the World's Greatest Christ-Fearing Wife, Mother, Daughter, Sister, Friend and Motivating Personal Trainer guided by the gentle instruction of Proverbs 31, sharing the gospel and spreading the message of Christ's love to ALL people by fulfilling all of my roles to the very best of my ability, so that when my time comes the Lord might lovingly look upon me and say, "Well done my good and faithful servant."
I feel like it's important to note that I don't assume that there is qualitative or quantitative measure of success or failure in the Christian walk--except by the measure of professing to be a follower of Christ and living in a way that would taint the message whereas actually preventing people from establishing a relationship with Him--but I do feel like there are certain characteristics of individuals that we can look at and think, that's how it should be done. Much like my obsession with Chalene, I am completely consumed by my desire to be like the woman described in Proverbs 31. After completing a Bible study a few months ago on 'Biblical Beauty' where she was referred to as the "ideal woman," I can't think of anything I'd rather be more. Looking strictly at the language element of that title...ideal, what is better than that? She really is the BEST mom and wife, not just portrayed that way in the little 5 minute vignette after the workout where you "get to know your trainer" and it creates the dynamic of look at my perfect life and family and home and if you do this workout you'll be just like me, perfect, thin, beautiful, successful, with perfect children, a perfect husband, and a perfect multimillion dollar home in southern California with his and hers gas guzzling SUVs and millions of friends. The BIG difference here is that the ideal woman didn't write Proverbs 31 about herself, her money didn't go to the production company to script, film, edit and produce the perfect glimpse into her life. She didn't go around looking for fame, but she got it just by being an amazing woman. It says that her kids talked about what a great mom she was, her husband was successful because of her support, even this chapter is King Lemuel conveying the message that his mother taught him about what to look for in a wife. This woman's reputation is remarkable! AND SHE LOVES THE LORD!! No matter how many days or weeks or even months have gone by since I completed that study, I literally every day think about how I can be more like that woman, which makes it even more frustrating when I see all of the popular negative representations of women and the marriage dynamic.
I know that most of it is portrayed in ways that are intended to be joking and is simply an effort to poke fun at the hormonal state of women and make light of the monthly mood swings, but it's frustrating and potentially even damaging to the marriage relationship when these attitudes and states are portrayed as normal. I recently read something that said something along the lines of "In a marriage there is the wrong way to do things, and then there is the wife's way" and the, "I'm king of the castle when she's not around" "Happy wife, happy life" all of these things which paint the role of a wife to be this horrible manipulating dictator. Then I watch shows like "Everybody Loves Raymond" or "King of Queens" and see the role that the wives on these shows play as nagging and pushy and crabby and complaining and the men are made out to be the bad guy because they are causing her to be this way!?! It makes me angry, because this isn't normal, this isn't the role we were intended to fill as wives, or mothers, this isn't even the good enough role, this is bordering on the barely passable as acting wife and/or mother. Just because you exchange vows and rings doesn't make you a good wife, and the carrying of a life in your womb makes you no more of an adequate mother and caregiver than picking up a stray puppy off the side of the road. These are roles that require effort, training and constant determination to do better, just like aiming for constant promotions in the work place. This is the reason why there are millions of books out there like "The Power of a Praying Wife/Mother" "Nurturing the Leader Within Your Child" "Fall In Love, Stay In Love" "For Women Only" All of these training manuals per se on how to keep getting better at what you do. I want to do that!! I want to fill that role!! I want to be just like that woman that King Lemuel's mother described, I want to fulfill the roles that God has appointed to me so well that others take note and say, I want to be like HER! This is not because I'm vain, or I want to be a celebrity, fame is by all means the very last thing that I desire for my life. I like to keep my personal affairs private and that's not possible in the case of celebrity, I want to be like the woman in my life whom I feel exemplifies all of these properties, the woman whom I hope to someday be like, I want to be that woman for some other woman, or even more importantly for my daughters.
The band Everclear has a song called "Everything to Everyone" which talks about a woman whom they ridicule because she tries to be everything to everyone, but I don't think that's a bad thing, per se. I want to be everything to everyone who I have a duty to, to my husband, I want to be EVERYTHING that a wife can be, to my children I want to be EVERYTHING that a mother can be, to the students I help to lead in youth ministry, I want to be EVERYTHING that a youth leader can be, to the individuals that I will someday train, I want to be EVERYTHING that personal trainer can be, the same goes as a daughter, sister, friend and most importantly follower of Christ. Even Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:22 "I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some." You see, if I am not in the practice of putting my everything into all things, I will not put my everything into the things that mean the most. I will not put my everything into reaching others for the sake of the gospel. Christ deserves our very best for the sake of all that He has given for us, and what better way to honor and celebrate the blessings of the roles that He has placed me in than to give them my very best?!
So, I guess it comes back around to this. When I think about what "World's Greatest" I want to be, I can't give it a simple answer, but I suppose I could sum it up like this...I want to be the World's Greatest Christ-Fearing Wife, Mother, Daughter, Sister, Friend and Motivating Personal Trainer guided by the gentle instruction of Proverbs 31, sharing the gospel and spreading the message of Christ's love to ALL people by fulfilling all of my roles to the very best of my ability, so that when my time comes the Lord might lovingly look upon me and say, "Well done my good and faithful servant."
No comments:
Post a Comment