Dear Memorial Day Weekend,
I had the time of my life; thanks.
Love, Libby Marie

On Friday, Gina surprised us all by coming for the weekend. We thought that she might come on Sunday morning but no one knew that she'd be here all weekend long! I moved into Emily's room. Gina and I visited a new church. I re-watched Crash and Little Miss Sunshine (two favorites) with some (not all) bffs. We went to Lawrence and partook in some Spangles (Burger. Fries. Milkshake. Heaven.) and then they gave us coupons for free ice cream and french fries for next time (by "gave us coupons" I mean, we've got like 15). We walked around Larry-Ville and enjoyed Brits, the store filled with British paraphenalia and Guinness attire (pilsner glasses that read, "Oh my goodness! Oh my Guinness!"). Lawrence has my favorite kind of people to watch and my favorite kind of buildings to look at and wish that I lived in. We played The Game of Life twice. I didn't win, which is never a good sign, and Steven ended up having about 12 babies and named them all after his favorite bands. I kept having girls, dagnabit. I was married to a man named "Guy". Countless rounds of Scattergories were played. Tabi always wins. Pat comes home tonight. I hope Tabi still plays with us ( I know she will). Yesterday I ran into my cousin from Bolivia in a Quick Trip on Santa-Fe in Olathe. Seriously, what are the odds?! Apparently they no longer live in Bolivia and have moved to Joplin, MO so that Chris can attend Bible College. I liked that he didn't really recognize me but that he approached me anyway. The last time I saw him was nearly three years ago. I like him because when he hugs, he hugs for serious.

Then, Steven, Tabi and I went to a Royal's game. Cindy, I had the greatest time! You're right. Those things are way fun!! We played the Baltimore Ugly Birds and, of course, we didn't win. But I wasn't paying any attention to the game anyway. Any time that I payed attention, I got excited when anyone caught the ball and didn't pay mind to whose score it affected. I just thought about how it must feel to jump up in the air and catch a ball that's traveling 100 miles an hour. And then when it was raining and I was eating spoonfuls of frozen lemonade and everyone was running up under the press box and I realized that we weren't getting wet because we had the greatest seats imaginable-- I started to giggle uncontrollably because I am a six-year-old.
Then came Slugger, the mascot. If anyone knows me they know that I hate, hate, hate clowns, mascots, Santa Clause, the Easter bunny, etc... I was happy to have Tabi on one side of me and Steven on the other but it made me really mad when he hit Tabi and then tried to forcably remove Steven's head. He could tell that we (Tabi, who has a similar fear, and I) were not vibing him at all and he kept pushing himself on us. Like we'd start to like him if his 6'9" self was gyrating right there for us to see. He's got, like, the biggest, fattest head with the biggest, fattest mullet and I had the biggest, fattest urge to toss him overboard. I hated him. I hated him so bad. The kids loved him (all but one who was expressing herself in a way that I would have loved to) and then he shot hot dogs into the stands using a gigantic cannon of sorts. Did I mention that he was a jerk?
He eventually left and I returned to my glee. My glee was intact.

Thirty days ago I wouldn't have believed that I'd be this happy.

Love, Libby Marie

I was browsing through one of those magazines that have a tendency to find their way into stacks on tables around campus; one of those magazines where the cheif demographic is single, Christian, upper-middle class, white people who are living in the Johnson County area who are looking for other single, Christian, upper-middle class, white people who are living in the Johnson County area and are also looking. Now, let's not jump to conclusions: I was waiting for my shift to start I wasn't looking for this magazine, it was right there and I wanted to appear busy. That's all, I swear. There was a little blurb in a box on one of the pages with a title that read something to the effect of Ways to Take Advantage of Your Singleness While You've Still Got It or something equally lame. This blurb was filled with things like: "Squeeze the toothpaste from the middle of the tube because no one's there to tell you not to" or "Drive to the city and spend the weekend getting pampered at a spa- why not? You don't have to schedule your life around anyone else!" or "Eat ice cream right out of the carton and don't worry about anyone else eating the remainder."
Part of me felt heavy, kind of lacking. I can't help but be a little disapointed to find that the greatest joy in being single is an excuse to get a pedicure. I know it's not, but why does it have to be presented as such? Why does singleness have to be seen as that stage that everyone has to go through before they get married? I just don't think that it's the means to an end--especially if that end is only marriage. Don't get me wrong, I think that marriage can be a wonderful thing, a beautiful friendship and a great gift, I do. I don't, however, believe that it's everything that God ever wanted for me. I want to see his glory.

I read an article a few days ago that said that the percentage of singles in the church is rising I think it's great to have single people in the church, I find it hard to believe that anyone would be discouraged by the fact but people are (Is it any wonder? The divorce rate within the church is currently at 51%, who wants to jump into that??). The idea that marriage is the default state for those in church attendance is certainly not a new one. Christian authors have been writing books (and apparently publishing cheap magazines) about singleness for years. There's an idea that man was made with a hole in his heart that was shaped for his one-day lady friend and vice-versa. The idea that a man can not be whole and complete without his female counterpart is a very popular theory. Don't get me wrong, I really believe that humans were made for relationship. I do believe that Adam and Eve were placed together in the garden to be friends, to be lovers, to populate, to have and to hold yadda yadda yadda. But I do not believe that Adam would never have been whole without Eve. In his book Wild At Heart, John Eldridge claims that a man's deepest longing is to rescue a woman, his beauty and that her deepest longing is to be rescued by him. “Why is this story so deep in our psyche? Every little girl knows the fable without ever being told. She dreams one day her prince will come. Little boys rehearse their part with wooden swords and cardboard shields. And one day the boy, now a young man, realizes that he wants to be the one to win the beauty.” That's all fine, I guess, if you want to think that our very existance has always centered around the idea of getting married. (What happens, btw, when you've reached your ultimate goal at the age of 30. Oh Lord, I can't imagine what we'd do.) But then, and this will serve as a fantastic example suit to prove that John Eldridge does not really understand the heart of a woman, not this woman at least: the world, he claims, “…kills a woman’s heart when it tells her to be tough, efficient, and independent.” Dear Mr. Eldridge, I think you're full of crap. Love, Libby (who just so happens to be efficient and have an entire spirit)

Here are my thoughts on the subject: I'm kind of thinking that it was imparitave that Adam and Eve get married (be married, whatever they did. I don't know how they pulled off the whole shebang sans flower girl/ best man). Imagine a world where Adam and Eve did not get married... yeah, uh huh. Pretty desolate. Given that they didn't eat from that dang tree, they'd still be sitting here, naked, a million years later, sick and tired of playing hangman. It as crucial that they procreate and have babies and populate the earth. Later on, God established his covenant through a line of people. For God's plan to take effect, his people had to grow up, get married, have sex and thus produce babies who would also be good little Jews to go on and do likewise. But at this point in time, God's kingdom is no longer being established by having Jewish babies so why, oh why, the idea that married people get to sit at the grown-up table at church and the singles get stuck in with the college kids and the youth group? Why is there a specific "singles ministry"? What's the difference? Can I, a 23 year-old single woman not relate to my married counterpart? Could I not learn from her, or even she from me? Why the seperation, why the distinction? Why are singles being treated like they're waiting in line for something instead of being ministered to/ allowed to minister? God's ultimate glory will be shown in the lives of believers and non-believers, marrieds and singles, children and elderly alike. Let it be so.

Love, Libby Marie