Friday, March 30, 2007

Guilt, the bane of a Recovering Baptist

I'm a recovering Baptist. It's a hard habit to kick, actually. There are at least 1 thing that you have to overcome.

GUILT. Not all Baptists, but the good ones, have very long lists of the things that one should and should not do. If I were to sum up the things I'd say: "Baptists don't smoke or drink or chew or go with girls do". They don't dance. Dancing leads to sex. PERIOD. Sex is even questionable on the off chance that may lead to dancing. Also, good Baptists don't go to the theatre to see a movie; renting movies is generally acceptable, but theatres are a "no-no". Foul language is generally not permitted, nor is being someplace where someone might actually use profanity. Most Baptists encourage women to wear frumpy jumpers; its best if they are made of ugly plaid and have applique farm animals on the bodice so as to completely eliminate the possibility of lust. Okay, I'm exaggerating. A little.

As a recovering Baptist I've made it a point to drink (wine, beer and margaritas), go out to movies, dance, and wear the occasional little black dress. Sometimes I even say a four letter word (truth is that I'm not a very good cusser - it's more of an art than you'd think) I've done all of these things, without a smidge of guilt. Not a smidge. I think it's a sign of recovery. But guilt is insidious. The "Shoulas" and "Couldas" of life sneak in the cracks and weigh me down. Guilt rears its ugly head with things like this: "Shoulda exercised today." "Coulda cleaned the bathroom instead of checked my email." "Oughta have sent that birthday card" "Shoulda read my kids a book instead of parking them in front of the tube." If I were a good cusser I'd say, "F--- it." I'm gonna learn to live in GRACE. There is now no condemnation for those who are Christ Jesus.

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