Yes Man and a Life Plan

Okay yes, I know there is too much blogging lately about what/where/why/how/plz_help with my life, and I know you probably don't/shouldn't really care all that much about it.

So I'm gonna name drop Zooey Deschanel right now to get you interested. *interest ignites*

Some of you may have made the connection. Zooey. Yes Man. She was in that. Yeah, I only saw that movie because I knew she starred in it. She played her typical strange, mysterious girl role, so I was inevitably endeared to her but that much more. I watched the movie with the Kirby over winter break, and I guess you could say I was inspired.

There was an overarching satirical theme mocking religious tradition (specifically Christian) in our country. Kirby looked over at my pure-holy-temple-Christian self at one point and asked, "This isn't offending you, is it?" With a hearty laugh and furrowed brow, I responded with a very strong, "No, not in the least." We've talked religion before. He knew what I meant with that response.

But I wasn't really inspired by the satire. If anything, it is a disappointing thing to watch when I let it bother me in that, "grr, you're attacking my people," sort of way, which I've all but entirely dismissed as a train of thought. I love my Christian brothers and sisters, but I see the flaws in them the same way I see the flaws in my non-Christian companions. It's not fair to expect a lot out of a sinful people. It is fair to expect a lot out of a perfect God. This is what I'm focusing on right now, and it's helping.

That being said, I was inspired by the "Yes Man" theme. Sure, it is extreme to say "yes" to absolutely everything requested of you, but I don't think it's too much to ask that we be willing to go and do. In a Jesus context, be willing to go and be a servant.

Through all of this applying for the DC Teaching Fellows and being invited to interview for it and now trying to prepare for the 6-hour interview session, my fears and doubts have been pretty consistently crushed by my desire for a "Yes Man" attitude. I would Christianize this and say it's a desire for the "Yes, God" attitude, but I think I'm not quite there. That's where I want to be, and I'm working on it.

The mindset that I have to figure out what to do with the rest of my life is futile. I know my life is not ultimately up to me or even about me. Being career-minded is a huge unnecessary burden, and I'm not looking for a life of such entrapment. This helps my yes--forcing a plan that laughs in the face of fear.