Today, I’m a Britta. Yesterday, I was an Abed. Tomorrow, I hope to be more like Jesus.
No, I didn’t make a typo mistake or refrence some slang version of the word “Brittish” and “Abed” is not my new muslim name. “Britta” and “Abed” are one of many characters in the comedy sitcom “Community”. The show is based on a small community college’s everyday student life. It’s famous for radically stereotyping the different flavor of Americans that decide to go back to school, or obtain a degree at budget prices. It’s days like today that I’m thankful for off-color humor based off of basic human flaws.
About 6 months ago, I landed on American soil for the first time in 11 months. I won’t try to describe it in detail simply because the experience alone was so overwhelming, re-telling it would surely do me in. Instead, I want to speak on my reaction to it all, hence introducing the characters of “Community”.
It seems like everyone is in agreeance that a year in missions is no easy task. But really, neither is a year in obedience. Living a life of obedience sometimes feels like any terrible cliche told to you so that you feel better about yourself or so your situation suddenly feels manageable and common. If it’s like finding a needle in a haystack, I’d rather torch it down (even in a drought). If it’s swimming against the current, then I’m finding a tube and grabbing a beverage. Obedience extends beyond our “easy” or “hard” experiences. Obedience stretches our abilities beyond their limits requiring it’s surrender, NOT compliance. There were times on the Race when obedience was hard, but still backed by the encouraging nature of my “missionary” status so that I would do the “right thing”.
This past year of missions was the most difficult experience in my life, until I came home. After the momentum of another country for another month died down, I realized that my motivation for obedience had left me. It rested in the nature of my circumstance, not the goodness of God. After a few months, the occassional church circumstance dwindled, and I altogether struggled to do what I knew was good and true. I misplaced myself.
On the show Community, each character enters the college in some manner of displacement. Abed cannot relate to anyone via emotion and feeling because of his Asperger’s syndrome, therefore forcing him to use media entertainment as a gateway. Britta is a woman, embittered by her paranoid inferiority caused by her gender and a zealous advocat for all things injusticed. Troy doesn’t want to let go of high school where he held some kind of control through popularity. Pierce is an old pervert, trying to maintain his youth by being technologically savvy. Shirly is a single, Christian mother struggling to maintain her faith and friendship with the others. Finally, the main character “Jeff” is a lying, selfish, manipulative father figure that actually cares for each character although trying so hard to stay cool and disconnected.
In each episode, the character live out their flaws amidst each other while slowly figuring out that beneath all that crap, goodness is waiting to be uncovered. Through their trials that only community can uncover, they realize that their humanity unites them.
Unfortunately, they have it all wrong.
Humanity does NOT unite us… grace does.
In the past 6 months, I’ve been as disconnected as Abed. I’ve stayed away from people, fearing I wouldn’t “connect” with them since going on the trip. I’ve also have been as bitter as Britta, placing blame on myself and others in our culture as apathetic when it comes to injustice, yet have lacked compassion for my own people. I’ve been a selfish Jeff Winger, looking out for myself and desperately trying to rebuild my shoe collection. I’ve stuggled like Shirley to maintain my faith and friends. Like Troy, I don’t fit in NEAR as well as before and Pierce… unfortunately “that’s what she said” jokes have started to be funny to me too.
Although the world says my humanity unites me with the rest of our hell bound race, I stand today in disagreeance. Underneath all this crap is a woman made to fear the Lord. A woman that is not bitter, selfish, insecure, fearful of man, prideful, or perverted. I am a daughter of the most high, and today, I guess I just needed to write about it. 🙂
Every now and again it comes time to reintroduce yourself to who you REALLY are, and through Christ I am made pure and righteous. I’m grafted into the tree that breathes life and bears good fruit.
And now, I finished substituting and it’s time to go home! THANKS FOR READING!
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