Escapist behaviors are like weeds. They grow up underfoot without our really understanding how they got there in the first place and, heaven forbid, how they ever got so big without anyone seeing it happen! I may be a unique brand of person, but I have always enjoyed a spate of ever-revolving interests into which I can disappear for hours. The advent of the internet was my absolute undoing. I can research obscure topics for hours now. I passed through the scrapbooking phase (tons of great shopping on the internet), the rabbit phase, the canary phase, the lovebird phase. The real estate shopping phase lasted for several years, and resulted in one house purchase, an in-town move. A real estate agent even called me one day based on some "What is Your Home Worth" questionnaire I filled out. "The makers of RealTracs, when crafting that fine database, never expected it to be used as entertainment," I told the agent, while apologizing for wasting her time. She laughed. I entered a rug-making phase when I had my miscarriage a year-and-a-half ago. Not much research available there, so I have set about shopping for kits on ebay and stockpiling my favorites. I don't overspend, don't smoke, don't drink, don't do drugs and have no immoral habits, unless you count mindless junk-food eating, which really is outside my personal moral code. So onward I go into my escapes, any time I feel the sting of rejection, the whip of failure, or the whisper of disappointment. This morning I announced with conviction: "We will not be going to McDonald's today." On my way back home from Centennial High School, where I dropped Matt off grumpy and TARDY, I swung through the drive-thru and got, not only my usual, but one additional item. It was like I was mocking myself!
What to do? Well, I came up with an interesting idea for today. I decided to make a list of my escapist behaviors (yes, my beloved McDonald's breakfast burrito is at the top) in a single column. On the opposite side of the page I thought I might list all of the issues that I am running from. Maybe across the bottom a list of scriptures describing the help from Almighty God that I could enjoy in dealing with said issues. I love it that, on the way to the high school this morning, I heard Mandisa singing "He is With You." She describes some mighty earth-shattering events in that song, things folks are going through every single day. God is always with me. Even when my weaknesses overtake me and I inhale a strawberry-creme pie in the blink of an eye.
What to do? Well, I came up with an interesting idea for today. I decided to make a list of my escapist behaviors (yes, my beloved McDonald's breakfast burrito is at the top) in a single column. On the opposite side of the page I thought I might list all of the issues that I am running from. Maybe across the bottom a list of scriptures describing the help from Almighty God that I could enjoy in dealing with said issues. I love it that, on the way to the high school this morning, I heard Mandisa singing "He is With You." She describes some mighty earth-shattering events in that song, things folks are going through every single day. God is always with me. Even when my weaknesses overtake me and I inhale a strawberry-creme pie in the blink of an eye.
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