Pretending to be asleep

I remember back when I was little, maybe 4 or 5 years old....my family would regularly drive the 45 minutes from Norman to Oklahoma City to see my grandparents. We would have good times talking, eating dinner, listening to my granddad tell stories about when he was young. It was usually late when we left their house to come home and without fail, I would always fall asleep in the backseat of the car. But what I find interesting is that I would always wake up as we got closer to our house. I could tell exactly where we were by the timing between turns, and I knew that if I let my parents know that I was awake, they'd likely make me walk into the house on my own, BUT if I pretended to be asleep, my dad would very gently carry me inside (so not to wake me) and lay me down in my bed and pull the covers over me.

It was a great feeling having someone who loves you pick you up and carry you inside, protecting you from the cold wind..even if it was just a short walk to the door. I used to think I was being all sneaky by pretending to be asleep, but I am beginning to wonder if he knew all along I was awake, but neither he, nor I wanted to reveal the truth as it would take away this seemingly insignificant, yet very powerful ritual.

Now, many years later, I have a daughter that is four years old and there are times, after coming home late, that I find she has fallen asleep in the car. When I open her door to carry her inside, sometimes I can tell she is indeed awake, yet still pretending to be asleep. I continue this ritual of carrying her inside, removing her shoes & coat, and tucking her in bed as I kiss her forehead. And every time, I am reminded of my father who did the same for me.

There are many things we will never know about the ones we love...parents, children, siblings...even our spouses. But I think the more we have the opportunity to walk in their shoes, the more we can understand what they might have been thinking and feeling. I cherish this season with my daughter as I am not only building a strong relationship with my daughter, but it is giving me more insight and understanding about my own father, about some of the hopes and fears he may have felt when I was little.

And at the end of the day, I am thankful for a father who indulged a child who was pretending to be asleep.

Consumption

This past year I have really been thinking a lot about our current level of consumption as a society and as a species. I began by reading Affluenza, a somewhat humorous, yet accurate, observation of the impacts of our affluent lifestyles on culture and the environment. I highly recommend you check it out from your local library.

I look at our world, well - i should say specifically our country - and I see how much marketing and advertising we are exposed to. We are bombarded with people telling us what to do & what to value. And we believe them. At least I do. When the iPhone ads came out - I was hooked. And guess what, when the phone I was currently using broke last October, guess what I did. That's right...I bought an iPhone. Did I really need it - no. Did I allow slick marketing to influence how I determined what was valuable and important to me?

Yep.

The environment is another interesting topic that has a lot to do with consumptions levels. (Here's an interesting 20 min video about consumption. It is a bit biased, but still interesting.) Now really - no matter where you are politically, we must admit that our current levels of consumption are not healthy for the environment. I am not convinced that the human race is directly causing climate change, but when I look at the effects of what we are doing, I get sick to my stomach. But do I still continue to consume at an unprecedented rate? Do I let convenience and low prices influence how I spend my money?

Yep.

I watched some of the presidential debates last night that I had recorded. One of the topics was health care. One of the candidates responded that we do not have a health care crisis, we have a health crisis. Americans consume way more food than we should, and yet we do not exercise or adopt healthy lifestyles. This pattern has been a primary contributor to a tremendous increase in diabetes, heart disease, and a significant number of other ailments. So what do we do? Well - do I turn to the medical professionals for treatment instead of prevention? Am I shocked by how much the treatment costs? Do I look to our government to find a solution for more affordable health care instead of considering my health as my responsibility?

Yep.


Am I proud that this is who I am?
Do I continue to believe that this what it means to be a Christian in today's world?
Will I just sit back and consider it someone else's responsibility?

Not any more.

I have a voice, and so do you.
I am more than a demographic, and so are you.
I am going to be the change that I desire in the world, and hopefully you will too.