Crazy Christians... and their infatuation with the nuclear family
so apparently over the past year or so it's become rather clear that i don't NEED two blogs... right.
But sometimes things happen that can't get blogged on the other blog, like when they involve people with whom I am facebook friends.
Ahem. here's the story.
Last March or somewhere thereabouts, three friends and I rode a rattletrap old car out to some parkland and had a bonfire in the snow. Two males and two females, none affiliated with one another, we all had a great time. Maybe there was SOME flirtation going on, but really below the radar, and not the point of the evening.
May 1st rolls around and suddenly two of them are "courting"
July something they are "engaged"
(i would've stopped and written a blog about that. I was floored)
September they get married. Beautiful wedding, although I disagreed with the use of Ephesians 5. I did not say "amen" to the sermon, but kept my disgruntledness to myself and called square dances at the reception.
And now, ten weeks married, she is nine weeks pregnant.
Now this is not my first pregnant friend. I have friends with babies. I go on facebook and check out baby picture regularly. I support having babies, in general.
I am shocked because I considered them peers, for the whole short time it took. Back in March, if I had any expectations at all for myself in the next nine months, some dating might have been in the future, like, maybe, SOME dating, and not an engagement. But the nine months passed oh so differently for them, and they are, yknow, looking forward to the next nine months.
I shouldn't be surprised, right? They're conservative Christians. This is the goal of their lives: raise up lots of little Christians. Some times I hang out with great numbers of these sorts of people and I am aghast at the number of babies being passed around. (Friends, can I tell you about the overpopulation problem in Africa? Can I tell you about the waiting lists of foster kids eligible for adoption? I know your sperm are sacred, and good, but so are the foster kids -- sacred and good children, made in the image of God, hungry for parenting). It is, in a way, their mission as they understand it, from God.
I might not be surprised, in theory. I know that babies are to be expected from someone who considers their mission to raise up a little Christian subculture. But still, when I heard the news I was totally taken aback. What did you do in the last year, Talitha? I did not meet someone, get married, get pregnant... instead I worked a good job, learned a lot about myself, and confirmed my future path as a professional clergy woman. These did not seem like bold statements earlier but I realize now that compared to some alternatives, I have clearly set some priorities.
But sometimes things happen that can't get blogged on the other blog, like when they involve people with whom I am facebook friends.
Ahem. here's the story.
Last March or somewhere thereabouts, three friends and I rode a rattletrap old car out to some parkland and had a bonfire in the snow. Two males and two females, none affiliated with one another, we all had a great time. Maybe there was SOME flirtation going on, but really below the radar, and not the point of the evening.
May 1st rolls around and suddenly two of them are "courting"
July something they are "engaged"
(i would've stopped and written a blog about that. I was floored)
September they get married. Beautiful wedding, although I disagreed with the use of Ephesians 5. I did not say "amen" to the sermon, but kept my disgruntledness to myself and called square dances at the reception.
And now, ten weeks married, she is nine weeks pregnant.
Now this is not my first pregnant friend. I have friends with babies. I go on facebook and check out baby picture regularly. I support having babies, in general.
I am shocked because I considered them peers, for the whole short time it took. Back in March, if I had any expectations at all for myself in the next nine months, some dating might have been in the future, like, maybe, SOME dating, and not an engagement. But the nine months passed oh so differently for them, and they are, yknow, looking forward to the next nine months.
I shouldn't be surprised, right? They're conservative Christians. This is the goal of their lives: raise up lots of little Christians. Some times I hang out with great numbers of these sorts of people and I am aghast at the number of babies being passed around. (Friends, can I tell you about the overpopulation problem in Africa? Can I tell you about the waiting lists of foster kids eligible for adoption? I know your sperm are sacred, and good, but so are the foster kids -- sacred and good children, made in the image of God, hungry for parenting). It is, in a way, their mission as they understand it, from God.
I might not be surprised, in theory. I know that babies are to be expected from someone who considers their mission to raise up a little Christian subculture. But still, when I heard the news I was totally taken aback. What did you do in the last year, Talitha? I did not meet someone, get married, get pregnant... instead I worked a good job, learned a lot about myself, and confirmed my future path as a professional clergy woman. These did not seem like bold statements earlier but I realize now that compared to some alternatives, I have clearly set some priorities.