Pride and Prejudice

I had the pleasure of watching the film “Pride and Prejudice” for the first time a few nights ago. I recall hearing the story of the arrogant Mr. Darcy and the "barely tolerable" Miss Elizabeth "Lizzie" Bennett. From first glance Mr. Darcy is clearly captivated by the simple beauty of Lizzie. Lizzie's was so confident and unlike any woman would have been during her time.  Lizzie was strong and articulate. Women during this time period looked at marriage as the ultimate goal. Getting married, especially to a man of wealth was the job for these women. 

Mr. Darcy was standoffish, arrogant, and a bit rude. Like Elizabeth Bennett, Mr. Darcy knows exactly what he wants and he knows exactly who he is. What is so beautiful about their love story is that it is a secret. Lizzie doesn't share her feelings about Mr. Darcy until after he asked her father for her hand in marriage. This was weeks or maybe even months after their first meeting.  Their love was honest and pure. Their love was filled with stolen glances and in depth conversations.  Unlike in today's world, the women kept their bodies a mystery by wearing long gowns. Even their arms were covered. They relied upon their God given beauty, intellect and charisma to win over their men. The men, especially Mr. Darcy, were gentlemen at all times. They dressed in the best suits and walked confidently, shoulders back and head up into every room. Even the men who were considered "lower class" carried themselves in this manner. The people of this time had pride about themselves. Grand balls were held to welcome the soldiers and any visitors who may have been passing through. With a mother with five daughters like Mrs. Bennett, this was a time to show off her girls in hope that they would secure a husband. Because a woman only worked in the home during this time, it was important for her to secure a husband to take care of her. Mr. Bennett was an older gentleman, so he wanted to ensure that his wife and daughters would not be thrown out on the street after his death. Marriage was the way out. Being married was the epitome of success during this time.  There weren't long courtships. Men and women didn't "shack up" first before marriage. No. A man simply saw it as his duty to find a woman suitable for his estate. The "women in waiting" spent their time reading, drawing, and playing the piano so that when their time came to be married there would be no doubt that they were suitable candidates.

These people had it right. It saddens me how far we have moved from such a godly tradition. In my opinion, women are in constant competition with men. From the type of jobs that women and men do today to how households are ran. We have lost are way somewhere. Instead of women keeping their bodies a mystery and relying solely on their charisma and God-given beauty, they've placed everything out in the open. Men no longer have to be well groomed on proper to catch the attention of a young lady. Men, in some cases, don't have to be physically attractive, but yet hold some level of status in society in order to be seen as "suitable".  Suitable for what? Marriage is no longer the ultimate goal.  Marriage has become a bonus. Being a trophy or arm candy of a man of social status is more important than being his wife. Men no longer have to woo their women or ask for their hands in marriage in order to become intimate. No. They can simply appear to have wealth and the women will flock; not to be the wife, but to belong to someone.

There are some women and some men who still believe in tradition, but they are few and far between. If a woman is more reserved, educated, and proper she is boring. If a man has achieved some success, but can't afford the lavish lifestyles of his brothers in the lime light, he is ignored.

What must we do to get our men and women to see marriage as the ultimate goal? What must we do to show future generations that wealth and happiness is not defined by your bank account?  What must we do to show our young women that soliciting their bodies will not get them closer to fame and fortune?  What must we do to show our young men that the definition of a man is not based on how many women he can sleep with, but yet how he can provide, protect, and love the one woman God has created for him?

I don't have all of the answers, although I wish that I did. Who's job is it to make things right?

Pride and Prejudice shows us that social status, wealth, and even beauty is irrelevant when it comes to matters of the heart. Love is something that is derived from inner beauty. When your inner beauty shines through that's when you know that you're walking on God's path. 

 Christy

Call the Maintenance Man

A few weeks ago, I shared a story with you about how I was locked inside of my apartment.  Well, wouldn't you know it the handle on the inside of my door is now broken.  I immediately thought to myself, “Okay, now what does this mean?” I believe that everything happens for a reason.  The first day that I noticed the broken handle my first thought was to call downstairs to the main office, so that the maintenance guy could have it repaired that same day.  My second thought was to make sure that I could still open the door and I wasn't trapped inside again. I left the house that day with every intention of calling the maintenance man.  I went about my day forgetting completely about the door until the next morning when I set out to leave.  Before leaving the house in a hurry, I wrote a reminder on the imaginary notebook in my head and again I left to start my day.  Of course I forgot to call the office again.  Well, this went on for a few days.  Soon I had figured out a way to open the door without the handle coming off.  It was still broken, but I had figured out a temporary solution to exiting the house without having to call down to maintenance.  Long story short, I am living with the broken handle. You know, I’m dealing with it in the meantime.  There is an easy fix to my problem; call the maintenance man.  It’s his job to help in these types of matters and he’s actually on call waiting to respond to small issues like mine or larger issues like backed up plumbing.

In life we often times get use to broken relationships, broken promises, broken hearts and just broke people. These people or situations find a way into our lives and instead of calling God, the man who can fix ALL things, we simply deal with them.  We allow these issues to stay and harm us like a malignant tumor. We place them on the shelf or put our focus on things that we feel are more important, but at the end of the day we find ourselves in a broken home with a broken foundation, surrounded by broken people.  It is up to us if we want to remain in this broken state.  We have a direct and divine connection with God, so that even before we make our request known He is already on the job fixing things for us.   

At the end of the day you have two choices: Call the maintenance man (GOD) or live a life of brokenness.

Be blessed,

Christy