Divorced

I am getting divorced.

Divorced from unreasonable expectations.

Divorced from yokes and chains.

Divorced from societal demands.

Divorced from past failures.

Divorced from false thoughts.

Divorced from shoulds.

Why?

Because I want to live.

I thought this morning about all the time in my life I wasted trying to live up to expectations put on me by others.

Then I wondered how many expectations, shoulds, oughts, and musts I am putting on my children and would they one day sit at a high powered device to write about it.

In this society we think married people should stay married to honor the institution, even if the institution is damaging the soul, or keeps women in chains, or does not allow same sex unions, or is abusive.

Images are placed on us, particularly Americans, to hold up to some false ideal of a perfect life.  I live in the suburbs and know that many of the carpool line moms are closeted prescription drug addicts, alcoholics trying to self-medicate from the pain of bricks on their chest.

We say that we must worship in a house made by man and while my father would turn over in his grave that I am not at church today, now I feel closer to the Creator than ever in a church pew.  Why?  Because over the years I've learned that man is flawed and we can love one another as gifts if we put aside the unreasonable demands.

Life is a precious whisper.  What gives one man authority over another man to dictate how he spends his dash.  I'm not talking about so-called illegal activity, but let's face it, not too long ago, the State Lottery was the domain of suit-wearing organized crime and that liquor sales were once the things of talkeasy prohibition.  Rules and chains and yokes to control from the stronger to the weaker to control.

I divorce it, all.

And breath the breath of life given to me by my creator who sculpted me in his image and told me to love my neighbor as my self and love my savior with all my life.

He did not tell me to buy into the prosperity gospel or domination gospel or sexual abuse gospel or women in long dresses gospel or men as ruler gospel.  My savior went to the people and there brought the gift of grace.

That is what I embrace.

I am almost forty-six years old.

Divorced from religious dogma.

Divorced from commanded audience.

Divorced from guilt messages.

Divorced from man above all.

And now that I have my emancipation papers, I don the cloak of life and step out into the wind to see what the rose colored glasses kept hidden.