be-musings

Beaver Cleaver is dead. A friend of mine once said talked about the (16 year) gap between he and his brother, in terms of world/family outlook. He said he was hard on himself because he didn't have a Beaver Cleaver life. For a generation that seemed to be the goal, although behind the scenes the housewives gambled with their girlfriends and hid gin in the water bottle for the iron. Divorce wasn't as prevalent as now, but affairs and illegitimately conceived babies still happened. Physical violence in the home was almost a man's right rather than his shame. Hiding all sort of troubles were the main concern, to be seen as an upstanding citizen. Keep up with the Jones' reputation.
Now, in the generation of Family Guy, the Osborne family, Sex in the City, and a plethora of "reality" TV shows (which honestly are so sensational they aren't at all real), some personal expectations have changed. Now keeping up with the Jones' means money or possessions. Okay, maybe money owed to the bank for possessions.
Times always change. Dylan wrote about that. I can still remember my high school principal singing that song at my sister's graduation.
A number of years ago, disillusioned by office troubles and the inter-relational disputes I was refereeing, I began to feel that everyone around me was whacked, even if only slightly. I had difficulty seeing normalcy in anyone, and in my frustration began to believe that I was the only normal one. I was the only sane person.
This mirage wasn't long lived, and in fact now it seems the opposite. Not that any of you are normal or sane. In fact, the ones that appear to be have things lurking under the surface. I've come to believe that this is what defines "normal". We're scarred and tainted and bruised and...weird. Some of us more than others, but all of us in some way.
At Bible Study we're reviewing Old Testament legends and what they teach us about faithfulness - and messiness. It's everywhere. Adam and Eve messed up when they ate what they were warned not to and tried to cover the truth from the greatest mind reader of all time. Don't judge them harshly; how many of us would have done the same thing in the same situation. Then there is Jacob. He never should have received the blessing, because God knew what he did. Yet he was blessed. Everywhere in the Bible human failure is prevalent. Abraham tried to pass Sarah off as his sister and "give her" to a ruler on two occasions. Sarah didn't believe God's promise (it was so irrational) and convinced Abraham to make it come true by sleeping with another woman. That didn't end very well. David wrote wonderful songs of worship, but had at least 2 blunders of his own. Let's see...adultery and murder. Not exactly stealing a candy from the grocery store.
I guess with that definition of Normal, we all qualify.