Another Mistake, Another Opportunity for Growth

I am officially graduating college this semester -- the graduation contract I signed today says so. But along with the formality of acknowledging how many credits you've completed and are in progress of completing sometimes comes the surprise of realizing you're actually three upper division credits short.

This is easy to fix, right? Just choose from the limited amount of classes that somewhat interest me or apply to my major, fit into my class schedule, work schedule, ministry schedule, and tentative internship schedule, get an override, buy another textbook and catch up on two weeks worth of material. I make it sound really bad in my head, but I know it's not a big deal. But I don't like surprises like this, and I am not fond of change.

What frustrated me the most was that this was my mistake -- another misunderstanding on my behalf that would take too long to explain. And this mistake is in addition to another big mistake I made earlier this semester concerning an internship. In addition to another really big mistake I made about my college career that confronted me halfway through last semester and showed me I would be graduating this semester instead of this fall.

Of course, I make many mistakes. But these mistakes stand out to me because they all have to do with my college/future career, and they all involve huge misunderstandings -- all on my part. Sometimes I fear I've lost my mind somewhere between last summer and my senior year.

But my complicated explanation of my experiences lead me to something simple:

Let your mistakes grow you.

Don't let them grow on you that you get so used to making them that you don't bother to correct them anymore. But let them grow you.

And what I mean by that is allowing our mistakes to sink in, consider what we can do to correct them or do better next time, and then do it. When we take responsibility for our mistakes, the growth comes naturally. We need to let go of the notion that we're not going to make mistakes. Philippians 1:6 says that the good work God started in us will be carried on to completion until Christ comes back. So really, if we're not making mistakes, then we're apparently already perfect and we're calling God a liar.

Here are a couple blogs that also have some good things to say on making mistakes.

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/life/career-money/features/27154-what-to-do-when-you-fail

http://blog.pastors.com/blogs/pcom/how-to-start-over-after-failure/

I especially like what the first one says about how we need to know mistakes in order to know grace. I would also say we need to know mistakes to know growth. Good stuff.

Image by regularjane on DeviantART.

Proverbs 31 Woman vs. Victoria's Secret Model

On November 30, 2011, a Baylor University student updated his Facebook status with, "I'd rather have a Proverbs 31 woman than a Victoria's Secret model." The status went viral on Facebook, and a week later, the same Baylor student and a few of his friends had a YouTube video, website (Live31.org) and even their own apparel. It wasn't until another week later that this new Christian trend reached my side of cyberspace, with a large number of my Christian Facebook friends reposting the status, sharing the video and linking the website. I immediately joined in.

Fast forward to a little more than a month later and this Live31 movement shows up on my Facebook newsfeed once again. But this time, instead of quickly "liking" the post, I decided to see what this movement really was about -- and as it turns out, I didn't like what I saw.

I'm sure the founders of this movement mean well, but I believe it needs to be reevaluated. Looking through the website's FAQ section, this caught my eye:

So if the statement, "I'd rather have a Proverbs 31 woman than a Victoria's Secret model," isn't what you really meant, then why make a whole movement out of it? Because it sounds catchy? That's not good enough.

I don't believe this thinking is healthy. First, the Proverbs 31 woman doesn't exist. None of the women of the Bible measured up to this standard, and especially now as our society and culture are different, I don't think Christian women today should be trying to measure up to her either. Of course, there is a lot to be said in that passage because it is Scripture. But we shouldn't take it out of context, and we shouldn't take it so literally. The Proverbs 31 woman is not the standard. Christ is the standard.

I know most of the people who started this movement knew this, and no one meant to offend anyone or limit women. But I think that saying you prefer a Proverbs 31 woman over a Victoria's Secret model can be just as damaging to a woman's essence. What of the women who were created beautiful by God (all women) and are considered beautiful by the world's standards (only some)? Do they have any less value because they are a godly woman AND happen to look like a VS model? No.

And that's just a little of what I think about it. If you want a better idea of what I'm trying to say, read these blog posts:
On Femininity, Sexism, and Sensuality in the Bible
and
Sparks Fly Up: A Response to "I'd Rather Have A Proverbs 31 Woman Than A Victoria's Secret Model".

I don't agree with everything written in them, but I agree with the general idea.

I'm just saying that we should be careful what we fight for, and what we "like." If you don't really mean that you'd rather have a Proverbs 31 woman than a VS model -- and the weight and meaning behind what you are saying -- then don't say it, just because it sounds catchy, just because everyone else is "liking" it. Don't categorize women into "Proverbs 31" and "VS model." Say that you want a woman who strives to imitate Christ and knows she is beautiful because God created her so. Don't settle for cheap words just because they make a nice slogan.