Curfiew was at 10 and it was 10:45. The nuns that ran the albuerge were strict and we knew the risks, but neither Alex nor I could sleep and a sense of recklessness hung in the air. Outside the building in a small courtyard we knew was a vending machine. … And. we. wanted. snacks.
We took off our shoes and breathlessly tiptoed down the corridor. A man stirred, we froze.
False alarm.
Hearts pounding, we went on warily. Finally we made it to the end of the hall and slipped silently out the door. Victory was in sight!
We cautiously made our way over. I slipped the Euro coin into the machine and hit the button for a Coke.
“Creak, creak,…”
“BAM!!!!”
The coke crashed down the machine with a sound like the trumpet of the second coming. I grabbed it and Alex and I ran like our lives depended on it.
We made it!!!!
Ya, we’re rebels.
Lol.
(The moral of this story? If you have a curfiew then stock up on snacks beforehand.)
Let me tell you more about my rebellious ways,
My team is bossy and it bugs me.
“Jackie do this, Jackie do that”
“Jackie, you have to wear shoes outside when you’re in public”
“Jackie you can’t have cake and Coke for breakfast everyday”
“Jackie you have to read the street signs so you don’t get lost”
Bossy, bossy, bossy.
There’s this one guy on my team, his name is Forrest and dang he’s the worst of them all. He tries to get me to eat vegetables and be healthy and shower more than once a week… It’s awful.
(Disclaimer: I do actually shower…)
I am rebellious by nature. I don’t like to be told what to do, to be called out, or to follow rules.
Clearly this is a problem at times… I should probably be a little more open to my team’s suggestions. Eating healthy likely wouldn’t kill me, wearing shoes in public is more socially acceptable, and it would be nice not to be lost all the time.
So in this area I probably need a little Jesus help.
There’s a flip side though,
Rebellion can be a gift, it’s just got to be used for the right purpose.
There’s a ruler in this world, and he’s not with the good guys.
The flow of the world is a downward current leading to a waterfall designed to crush us to smithereens.
And it is so easy to go with the flow.
This is where rebellion comes in handy. That stubborn fighting spirit that the Lord put inside of me has a purpose.
I am made to go against the flow, as Christians we all are.
I am designed to be different, to stand my ground.
I’ve just got to learn to do it for the right reasons.
So all you moms with the oh so stubborn kids, and the rebellious teens, don’t despair, lol. They may still need some Jesus work in them, but those are the traits that are gonna make your kids strong, those are the traits that mean your kids aren’t gonna passively settle, they aren’t just gonna follow the crowd. Those are the traits that make the leaders, the visionaries, and the passionate defenders.
So if you’re gonna be a rebel… Be a rebel, own that. But be a rebel for Christ.
“Our battle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, and against the principalities of this flawed world.”
