Mistaking Resilience for Invincibility

I was watching a mobster movie the other night -- a comedy. One guy was complaining that kids these days are irresponsible because of the decline of the two-parent family. His cohort said, "Whatever! My dad left when I was ten, and I turned out just fine!" Then they duct-taped the third guy up and put him in the trunk of the car.

Yeah, that's something that someone would do who has turned out just fine...

I thank God every day for my husband. If my kids do turn out just fine (and I define that fairly broadly -- minus kidnapping people) it will be because of their daddy.

I didn't have a dad. I don't kidnap people (unless you count when I take my kids somewhere they don't want to go) but there were definitely repercussions within our family that are still being resolved.

I feel like this misinterpretation of resilience has affected my life in other ways. When I was younger, I only slept 4 to 6 hours at night. Sleep seemed like a waste of time, and heck, I was still able to go about my business the rest of the day, so I must not have needed sleep, right? Eight hours! P'shaw! When would I have time to work three jobs AND go to college?

I didn't eat fresh produce. Ever. I just hadn't developed a taste for it and figured all that talk about eating your veggies was for people not as healthy as I was. I never got sick! I was resilient...

Now I have fibromyalgia. Hmmmmm.... Could it be that lack of sleep and lack of proper diet had long-term effects that I disregarded because there were no visible short term effects happening?

America, land that I love, is having some problems that might fit in this category: we mistake resilience for invincibility. We figure that as long as we're surviving, we must be thriving. Since lightning hasn't struck yet, God must approve of how we're defining the Constitution or family or "rights." Right?

Part of the issue is that when lightning does strike, we don't recognize it for what it is! We aren't humble enough to step back, look in the mirror, and make necessary changes.

I will say that I do sleep nowadays. My body pretty much requires it.

And I eat almost as much fresh produce as I do chocolate. Almost...

And I'm also working on that dad thing. I've given it to God and forgiven Dad for leaving and keep working to make sure I never give my husband any desire to leave. If there's more I can do, I'll do it. I'm committed to being more than resilient!