Comes in Threes

I've got these three things bouncing around in my head. And for the life of me, I can't find the common thread. Why these? Why now?

1. Zombie

I found a couple of covers of the song Zombie by The Cranberries. Trying to understand the symbolism, it occurs to me that God sees us just like zombies. I mean zombies like from the movies. Walking dead, driven by instinct and hunger, infecting everything they get their hands on.

He created this awesome, perfect universe. Full of animals, amazing views, and that's just on our own little dust ball. Imagine what else might be out there around other stars, or in other galaxies! He puts us right smack dab in the middle. 

The Bible describes us a spiritually dead. We have this craving to drown discomfort, shame, dis-ease. Just like the hunger of a zombie, this desire drives us into destructive behaviors. 

The Bible writers didn't have the plethora of monster movies we enjoy today. But yeah, I think they're describing zombies. We look like a world full of zombies to God. The good news, unlike the movies, God made a way to restore life. We don't have to stay a zombie. In the movies you go from the world of the living to the undead. In real life, you go from undead into life. Cool, huh?

2. The Right Answer

I have a lot of trouble with open ended questions. I absolutely hate the question how are you. People mean so many different things with these same words. It could be a polite introduction to the real conversation. It could be reactive, asked from habit. It could also be someone probing because they think something's wrong. So what's the right answer?

Hopefully you're thinking there is no right answer. And deep in my subconscious, system 1 has been trained to always find the right answer. That's why these kind of questions are so uncomfortable. I realized this morning that this all started with school.

How do you do well in school? You have the right answers. Read the right words. There is an answer and success is finding the right one. 

I learn rules, systems. The rule in that system was find the right answer. A lesson repeated over 17 years. And, I have to be honest, one that ties nicely with immature emotional development. Worst kind of lesson - one that tells me what I want to hear anyway. What does this mean for teaching Vania?

3. Complain and do

Jesus tells a story, recorded in Matthew 21:28-32, about two sons. Each was sent to work by their dad. In modern terms, he told them to go clean their rooms, for us city dwelling folks. One boy says no way, walks off, and regrets his attitude. He goes and cleans his room. No wait, went outside to work. Sorry, I got lost in my analogy of a parable.

The other boy says sure, Dad. Then just wanders off. Jesus poses the question, who really did what they were supposed to?

I thought of this while brushing Vania's hair. That's never pleasant. Her hair gets knots. Lots and lots of knots. Brushing hurts. And she lets me know. Constantly asking when I'm done, how much longer, or asking me to stop. But she lets me do it.

It's hard while the complaining happens. Yet in the end, I'm proud of Vania for doing what needs to be done. Doing what's right.