Pushing the Rules

As most of you know, I went to a college with rules... lots of rules... And as some of you know, I went back in the area about a week ago to visit family and take a short vacation.

What struck me the most (Jamie can attest to this) when I got off the plane and walked down to get my luggage was how much I enjoyed wearing my jeans in the airport because I could never do that there before. But what's the deal with wearing jeans in public? I do it EVERYWHERE here, in fact, I even wore jeans to church once or twice - and I think nothing of it. But somehow when I was back there it was a big deal. It was fun to sit in the Olive Garden looking for khaki skirts (knowing I wasn't wearing one), driving to a "real" beach blasting normal music (without looking for palm tree stickers), and going to the movie theature. Here where I live it's just a part of average life, there it was an adventure. But why?

I think that our human natures give us the desire to push the rules. It doesn't really matter whether it's a rule about wearing skirts, or just not walking on the grass of a public building - we always want to push it just a little more. Like Eve in the garden, we start by just looking at the fruit, seeing what it could do for us, and then possibly going ahead to take that bite.

Just knowing that what I did had been "taboo" in the past, made it entertainment. It makes me wonder what else I do to push my lines and if some of the things I do are just a reaction to my past and "because I can now". When life stops being a rule book of black and white (at home and college) it gets harder to see my reasons behind what I do and where my focus really should be. I guess the point is just to find out for myself through prayer and the Word.

But it's still fun to wear jeans.;-)