What the Dickens!

It is Christmas Day and it is the first Christmas since Pat passed away that I was not sad when I woke up. When my eyes opened this morning, my heart awoke with gratitude and joy. Home was occupied by just me, my two dogs, and my cat - yet I did not feel lonely at all. My spirit was not weighed down with a melancholy aching for Christmases past. The specters of fear and worry were nowhere in sight. Just a pure joy for the day and the Lord who made it.

The past few weeks have been hectic with this fortnight being particularly exhausting. It would be the first Dec 24th that I had to work. There was very little time between work and church - then I needed to get to the family gathering. The week before it even happened, I was worn out just thinking about it. But then, I watched A Muppet Christmas Carol with my students. I've seen this many, many times. I've seen many versions of A Christmas Carol more times than I could count. Yet once again, even this more playful version spoke to me.

In Dickens' book, Marley’s ghost says to Scrooge ‘’No space of regret can make amends for one life’s opportunity misused.’’ I began to look at working on the 24th as an opportunity. Not only did I get a lot done, but I played cornhole with the kids, enjoyed time with my fellow teachers, and had a great day.

On Sunday, my tearful prayer and the Lord's nudge to change my focus was rewarded with the beauty of His Light. He is the Light of the world - and as Michael Card sang, how can there be in darkness in me if He is that Light? He abides in me and I in Him.  Let that Light shine!  When I taught my yoga class on Monday night, my theme was joy - and indeed, the joy of the Lord is my strength.

I also realized that grief had me dwelling to much in the past on special days. I was burdened by old, beloved traditions that were not, could not be the same. It was like the weight of a heavy stone dragging my heart down.  But in a Christmas Carol, Scrooge learns and says, “I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me.’’ The past is only part of the equation of my life; it is to be looked at and learned from. It is not a place to wallow.

When I awoke this morning, it wasn't about me waking up alone; it wasn't about emptiness or the bustle of preparations... it was about the Good News. Jesus Christ came that we might have life and have it more abundantly!  John 1:4, "In Him was life, and that Light was the life of men." --And that waking up alone nonsense, I never felt less alone. Thus, I moved on through a day of laughter and love.  Merry Christmas - regarding the born-again Scrooge - “And it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us!’’

Facing anti-intellectualism? Don't apologize for being smart!

“By this method thousands of humans have been brought to think that humility means pretty women trying to believe they are ugly and clever men trying to believe they are fools. And since what they are trying to believe may, in some cases, be manifest nonsense, they cannot succeed in believing it and we have the chance of keeping their minds endlessly revolving on themselves in an effort to achieve the the impossible.” C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

I'm done apologizing for being smart. Why is it that if you are intelligent you constantly feel you have to dumb yourself down to be accepted by peers? Why is it that people are offended just because you know things? And why does knowing things get dismissed so readily with the insult that you are a know-it-all?

There is no crime in knowing many things. There is no need to pretend that you don't know many things. Chances are that if you know many things it happens that you are also very aware of the many things you do not know.  Quite possibly you will seek to know some of those things, too, because you are born with a deep-seated curiosity. There is a universe of things to know and there is zero fault in acquiring what you can.

There is also nothing wrong with sharing what you know, this, in spite, of the fact that there will be people who are intimidated by your brain power. If you have answers or input that conflicts with what they believe to be, you can expect to be considered arrogant - no matter how innocently you deliver your knowledge. SO BE IT.

I read a thread on Quora where a parent asked, "My 8 year old son has a 150 IQ, what should I do?" Someone answered to this effect, "Either coach him to dumb himself down so that he can be socially accepted OR allow him to think, dream, dare to use his gifts."   The first option is indeed a sad truth that many gifted folk feel is their best option in order to function within society.  Guess why? Because if you act smart, talk smart, daresay admit you are smart, you are perceived as a conceited braggart without ever even  bragging. Just by being.  Yes, just by being.

I remember being a teenager and being mortally embarrassed by the fact that I was in MENSA. I felt fearful that I would be made fun of, that it was a symptom of abnormality, or even something to be looked upon with as much disgust as if being accused of being a Nazi. We live in a sick world when something such as being born intellectually gifted isn't treated like a gift - while being gifted athletically is coveted. It took a long time to get away from those fears - many years in fact.

In the past year I've met some brilliant teens who felt misunderstood and had all those same fears thanks to a society that dislikes smart people. Whenever I meet a student like this, I do my best to encourage the thinking, the dreaming, the daring to use and appreciate the gift of brain power. I can't tell them that the stigma of high intelligence will go away, but I can tell them that just as "lions don't lose sleep over the opinions of sheep," they should not lose sleep over the insults or aversions of those who are intimidated by their gifts and seek to shame them for "knowing many things."

As for me, I'm 56 years old and I'm done being concerned with how my gift is perceived. God gave it to me and hopefully, I use it to glorify him. My daughters are highly intelligent. I see it in my grandchildren. My prayer is that they never, ever feel ashamed because of their hunger for knowledge and their ability to use it. As C.S. Lewis said, it is NOT humility to disavow the brains God gave you. SHINE.