All by myself

My husband has left me, but just for the night. The men at our church are at a retreat and are probably playing poker right now. You guys better not be staying up until 4 AM just to play poker. I can understand if it was over a game of Settlers or something. When we are apart from our spouses we become so undisciplined. Case in point - I am sitting here surfing the internet and blogging at about 1 AM and just got off the phone with a girlfriend not too long ago. What is it with men/boys? Their idea of hanging out and bonding entails 2 things: playing games and/or watching sports with other guys. Are you men afraid of a little intimacy?

*****

On another subject, I've been thinking a lot about the difference between having and not having - whether it is education, money, power, connections, or skills. Is it just me or does it seem that the difference between the "haves" and the "have nots" is getting greater and more distinct than ever before? As this happens, those with more money, influence and power tend to hoard more for themselves, leaving the "have nots" with less and less. We all want to be in the group that "has" because it's better to have choices in life than be forced to live with little or no choices. When we sit in a position of privilege, it becomes our responsibility to humanity to share our resources and our talent. But what really happens is that people take that power and use it to oppress and push others down further and further. It's happening in Sudan, it happened in Rwanda, it's happening in Iraq, it's going on in N. Korea, and it happens everywhere around the globe, including here in the U.S. between the rich and the poor. I really fear for this world every time I think about all the pain. What kind of world will our children have to face when they are my age? How do we begin to teach society to care for others? We are truly sinful creatures. This is why we constantly have to remind our children that they need to share and to think about others. It's not innate. God did put in us a desire to fellowship with others, but our sinful nature pushes us to want to be ahead in line and holds us back from truly loving our neighbors.

This is all heavy stuff that has been burdening my heart lately. Not cheery thoughts to rest your head upon. I need Joe back so I can unload some mental weight and sleep. God I pray that you please ease the suffering of the oppressed.