There is no such thing as an ordinary Man.”
C. S. Lewis ~ Athiest, Reluctant Convert, Apologist. above ordinary man.
Fly-over Country
It’s a daily occurrence; some where between the coasts, the left and the other left, most men attempt to answer a variation of this question, “Today how can I be special…build my empire…and leave my mark.” If simplified it loosely translates as, “Will my future be as exciting and consistent as a bowl of grits?”
Ordinarily, Ordinary
There are many, frozen in time or by circumstance, that think that touting their accomplishments borders on narcissism. They believe that they are, and are destined to be, ordinary.
Is it the limelight that people fear, or is it the notoriety that we wish to avoid? Apprehension is understandable. Once we commit to an ideology or worldview, or we set out on a course of action that has the power to change the world, we risk the ire of the thought-police and will be targeted and disparaged. The chances of getting our privacy back is nearly impossible. In the digital age in which we live, our actions and words are permanent and can be used in ways that we never imagined or intended. The tranquility and simplicity that we could once protect will be replaced by unwanted drama akin to a pimple on a teenager’s nose.
Unordinary
How can we push back against the apprehension? We are a product of intelligent design, breathed into existence by the creator of the universe. If we embrace the idea that the best we ever hope to be is ordinary; the work of our hand’s will be viewed in the same light, as ordinary; as ill our dreams, our calling and our uniqueness. Our greatest attributes will no longer be.
Would you reject your portion of your spiritual DNA, clinging to a narrative that will shape your identity as the byproduct of percolating for a few billion years in primordial ooze? Is it possible that we have been developmentally stunted due to the lies that we have been told? What could we have accomplished, what would we have done if we were immersed in a different message, one that we have value, an intrinsic worth not because what we have done or can do, but because of who we are?
Still an Egg
C. S. Lewis wrote, “It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad.”
Will you be satisfied if you are good and decent, but still an egg; accomplishing little and impacting few?
Are you called to be a peace-maker but overwhelmed by what you see and hear? Do you try to speak into the brokenness that is encircling us; a brokenness that permeates lives, families and communities? Does it have to be like this? Does the future belong to those that have the loudest message, the largest distribution and greatest amplification?
Survivalists
We are conditioned to be combative, Darwinian if you will, determined to be the toughest and the most resilient. From the womb to the tomb, we fight the battles that we must with the tenacity of Mr. T., pitying the fools who underestimate our resolve. We fight to regain dignity and decorum, faith and freedom of thought and speech. Our intuition is sitting on our shoulder, reminding us how the world is meant to be. How will we know?
In the still of the night, when the voices are hushed, when the Wonder Pup is taking up more than her share of the couch, it is in the silence of the early morning hours he heals and restores. When we realize who it is that calls us by name, we can change. We can seek mercy and work to restore our families, our neighborhoods and our country to who and what we were intended to be.
Then we will learn we are no longer eggs, encircled by a shell of protection.
Then we will know that we can be free to be ordinary and so much more.
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“You can holster your Super Soaker, Ivy. I found out that a CPL isn’t necessary for a water pistol. By the way, how did you got wet. I see that it’s ooze.”
Al and his faithful, but over zealous sidekick, Ivy the Wonder Pup?