This is too good. Well written and funny. Aside from the column itself, just pointing this out because I thought of it while reading, if a guy wrote this about girlfriends, shit would seriously hit the fan. Is that a double standard, or just a problem created by women who are stuck in the past? Food for thought.
Wow, I’m so impressed with your vocabulary, not to mention your spot-on grammar. I really appreciate you and the rest of your black ball friends. Kindly get off of this webpage, we know you have nothing better to do.
I have to say, I feel that LC’s efforts have good intentions behind them, but there is nothing wrong with the word “skinny,” people who are skinny, or having a goal to become skinny. If you are healthy, good for you. If you’re fit, good for you. You should be. It’s part of respecting your body and being industrious. Skinny is, in fact, a shape, and it is achievable. What is “skinny” to you may not be something your body can look like, but that’s not to say you cannot be my version of skinny. I’m skinny, and most of my friends are skinny. Why is that? Because we eat well, exercise often, and make healthy choices. Skinny shaming is a thing. I pride myself on doing what I can to be fit, but let’s point out that there are people who literally cannot avoid being skinny. Just because you felt that you couldn’t achieve skinniness when it was presented with the term “skinny” instead of “thin,” does not take away from the validity of the fact that the two words are synonyms. People need to stop being so easily offended. Nobody made you feel that you needed to be skinny except for you. If you don’t want to work hard and be fit, that’s your choice.
This is probably one of the saddest things I’ve read. I’m so sorry that you lost the things that were important to you. But that’s not the part that gets me down. You actually did find Jesus, you aren’t wrong there. But there’s such a difference between finding Jesus and not committing your life to Him, as opposed to finding Jesus and putting all your chips in. What I mean by that is this: You found Jesus, and you felt joy. Joy is different from happiness, it truly is. The dictionary won’t tell you that, but wisdom will. You felt joy for just a moment. Just for an infinitesimally minute fraction of forever. It felt good, didn’t it? Like contentment. It’s comfortable, joy. But you were feeling good before that, weren’t you? Partying in a fun city with fun people. Jesus is better than them, I promise. But He made fun people. He made fun, He made people, and He made people who are fun. He made nature, brains, talent, friends, family, new people to meet. I wouldn’t tell you that if I wasn’t completely confident in that with all of my being. The thing is, we’re called to follow God and live out the life He calls us to live. Here’s what you experienced: you felt joy. Then, you felt injustice. Somebody wronged you. They cheated you, and you lost something that you valued. Yet, what did you lose? Part of finding Jesus is acknowledging how unfathomably small your life on earth is. Do you think your cell phone or wallet is worth something? If it is, then you’re thinking with an earthly mind. No, you’re not wrong. It’s worth something. It is. Probably a few hundred dollars, maybe a thousand. Dollars. Sure, your cell phone and wallet have value. Dollars have value here on earth. And it’s fine to think with that mindset. You wouldn’t drop a twenty on the sidewalk, neither would I, and neither would anyone. But that’s not what this is about. This is about what mindset your faith lies in. You need to be able to see the big picture in order to put all your chips in. Step back, think about what happened. Now, in the moment, it sucks. It does. You have none of the resources you’re used to, you’re in a different city, and you’re now uncomfortable. What God did, is He tested you. You felt what it’s like to be filled with joy for a moment, you liked it, you worshipped (yes, shouting that you love God is what He wants to hear), and then God tested you. To see if you were willing to put your faith in Him, He took a few of your earthly things to see if you would abandon Him for them. And you did, for now. Of course it’s not too late. God is patiently waiting for then moment when you accept Him, not just find Him. Finding him is just the beginning. I’m not here to tell you that being a Christian is easy, because it isn’t. I hope that doesn’t scare you away, because this is infinity we’re talking about. Forever. Not 100 years, which you and I probably won’t live to anyway, eternity. Your soul isn’t just going to disappear when you die. It’s going somewhere, and I hope you choose the right place. It will be a challenge, but what challenge are you not even willing to TRY in order to spend eternity with Jesus in Heaven? Is there really something, anything, that you could name that you wouldn’t give an effort at to see if you couldn’t just scrape by and get into Heaven? I really do doubt it. Think about it. That’s like if I said, here’s a basketball, here’s a goal, shoot a basket and if you make it, I’ll give you a million dollars. Are you really going to hand me the ball back? I offered it to you, doesn’t it seem silly to turn down a million dollars? A million dollars is nothing. Try eternity in Heaven. Are you really going to turn that offer down? What I’m getting at is, it’s difficult to live for Jesus. It’s a challenge. But it is so worth trying. Just give it a real try, for the rest of this tiny, tiny lifetime and see what you get. So you got tested. It wasn’t the first time, and it won’t be the last. But your response is so crucial. I want you to know that I’m not talking about little challenges like you got a cart with a stupid wheel at the grocery store, I’m talking about cancer, depression, miscarriages. I’ve been depressed, I’ve been there. It isn’t like anything I could describe to you and really get the point across. It is an eye-opener, and I’ve grown so much from it. I now know what people are going through when they say they are depressed, or say their mental health isn’t good. I feel ridiculous thanking God for what I went through, but it’s justified. It was a test, and I came out stronger as a person, and stronger in my faith. I’m not done recovering, as most people who’ve been depressed will know. My faith was shaken, but it’s on it’s way. There’s more to life than sadness, happiness, and earth. Believe me. I wanted to give up.
I know, I’m another of those people who tried to get you to give Jesus a try. But if you can really look at me, or maybe a person who’s lost a child, a person who’s overcome cancer, or a person who’s gone to war and come back feeling like they’re half gone, and say that Jesus is an asshole, I’ll be shocked.
This is too good. Well written and funny. Aside from the column itself, just pointing this out because I thought of it while reading, if a guy wrote this about girlfriends, shit would seriously hit the fan. Is that a double standard, or just a problem created by women who are stuck in the past? Food for thought.
Wow, I’m so impressed with your vocabulary, not to mention your spot-on grammar. I really appreciate you and the rest of your black ball friends. Kindly get off of this webpage, we know you have nothing better to do.
Summary:
Her efforts to oust body-shaming by saying skinny is a word we shouldn’t use, body-shames skinny people. It’s a contradiction.
I have to say, I feel that LC’s efforts have good intentions behind them, but there is nothing wrong with the word “skinny,” people who are skinny, or having a goal to become skinny. If you are healthy, good for you. If you’re fit, good for you. You should be. It’s part of respecting your body and being industrious. Skinny is, in fact, a shape, and it is achievable. What is “skinny” to you may not be something your body can look like, but that’s not to say you cannot be my version of skinny. I’m skinny, and most of my friends are skinny. Why is that? Because we eat well, exercise often, and make healthy choices. Skinny shaming is a thing. I pride myself on doing what I can to be fit, but let’s point out that there are people who literally cannot avoid being skinny. Just because you felt that you couldn’t achieve skinniness when it was presented with the term “skinny” instead of “thin,” does not take away from the validity of the fact that the two words are synonyms. People need to stop being so easily offended. Nobody made you feel that you needed to be skinny except for you. If you don’t want to work hard and be fit, that’s your choice.
This is probably one of the saddest things I’ve read. I’m so sorry that you lost the things that were important to you. But that’s not the part that gets me down. You actually did find Jesus, you aren’t wrong there. But there’s such a difference between finding Jesus and not committing your life to Him, as opposed to finding Jesus and putting all your chips in. What I mean by that is this: You found Jesus, and you felt joy. Joy is different from happiness, it truly is. The dictionary won’t tell you that, but wisdom will. You felt joy for just a moment. Just for an infinitesimally minute fraction of forever. It felt good, didn’t it? Like contentment. It’s comfortable, joy. But you were feeling good before that, weren’t you? Partying in a fun city with fun people. Jesus is better than them, I promise. But He made fun people. He made fun, He made people, and He made people who are fun. He made nature, brains, talent, friends, family, new people to meet. I wouldn’t tell you that if I wasn’t completely confident in that with all of my being. The thing is, we’re called to follow God and live out the life He calls us to live. Here’s what you experienced: you felt joy. Then, you felt injustice. Somebody wronged you. They cheated you, and you lost something that you valued. Yet, what did you lose? Part of finding Jesus is acknowledging how unfathomably small your life on earth is. Do you think your cell phone or wallet is worth something? If it is, then you’re thinking with an earthly mind. No, you’re not wrong. It’s worth something. It is. Probably a few hundred dollars, maybe a thousand. Dollars. Sure, your cell phone and wallet have value. Dollars have value here on earth. And it’s fine to think with that mindset. You wouldn’t drop a twenty on the sidewalk, neither would I, and neither would anyone. But that’s not what this is about. This is about what mindset your faith lies in. You need to be able to see the big picture in order to put all your chips in. Step back, think about what happened. Now, in the moment, it sucks. It does. You have none of the resources you’re used to, you’re in a different city, and you’re now uncomfortable. What God did, is He tested you. You felt what it’s like to be filled with joy for a moment, you liked it, you worshipped (yes, shouting that you love God is what He wants to hear), and then God tested you. To see if you were willing to put your faith in Him, He took a few of your earthly things to see if you would abandon Him for them. And you did, for now. Of course it’s not too late. God is patiently waiting for then moment when you accept Him, not just find Him. Finding him is just the beginning. I’m not here to tell you that being a Christian is easy, because it isn’t. I hope that doesn’t scare you away, because this is infinity we’re talking about. Forever. Not 100 years, which you and I probably won’t live to anyway, eternity. Your soul isn’t just going to disappear when you die. It’s going somewhere, and I hope you choose the right place. It will be a challenge, but what challenge are you not even willing to TRY in order to spend eternity with Jesus in Heaven? Is there really something, anything, that you could name that you wouldn’t give an effort at to see if you couldn’t just scrape by and get into Heaven? I really do doubt it. Think about it. That’s like if I said, here’s a basketball, here’s a goal, shoot a basket and if you make it, I’ll give you a million dollars. Are you really going to hand me the ball back? I offered it to you, doesn’t it seem silly to turn down a million dollars? A million dollars is nothing. Try eternity in Heaven. Are you really going to turn that offer down? What I’m getting at is, it’s difficult to live for Jesus. It’s a challenge. But it is so worth trying. Just give it a real try, for the rest of this tiny, tiny lifetime and see what you get. So you got tested. It wasn’t the first time, and it won’t be the last. But your response is so crucial. I want you to know that I’m not talking about little challenges like you got a cart with a stupid wheel at the grocery store, I’m talking about cancer, depression, miscarriages. I’ve been depressed, I’ve been there. It isn’t like anything I could describe to you and really get the point across. It is an eye-opener, and I’ve grown so much from it. I now know what people are going through when they say they are depressed, or say their mental health isn’t good. I feel ridiculous thanking God for what I went through, but it’s justified. It was a test, and I came out stronger as a person, and stronger in my faith. I’m not done recovering, as most people who’ve been depressed will know. My faith was shaken, but it’s on it’s way. There’s more to life than sadness, happiness, and earth. Believe me. I wanted to give up.
I know, I’m another of those people who tried to get you to give Jesus a try. But if you can really look at me, or maybe a person who’s lost a child, a person who’s overcome cancer, or a person who’s gone to war and come back feeling like they’re half gone, and say that Jesus is an asshole, I’ll be shocked.