The Woes of the Computer World and The Female Condition

So, I hate my computer. It's official. The new thing is pretending that it doesn't have any power. It just keeps saying, "Battery Critical - Plug in to avoid losing all your work." The only catch . . . the computer is plugged in! Yes, I hate my computer. My sister is going to fix it for me over Thanksgiving - if that doesn't work, I'm trashing it and buying a new one. On top of that, work has totally cracked down on cyber security and they are monitoring our computers 24 hours a day and we can't even check our personal email (Gmail, yahoo, hotmail, etc.) on our lunch hour anymore. So, for blogging, I'm forced to attempt to capture the complexities of my life in between plug in issues.

That being said, it's been an eventful week. My grandmother's funeral was Saturday and I spent 4 days in Portland to help my Aunt prep and attend the funeral. Our sadness was sweetened by the arrival of my cousin's first baby the day before the funeral. It was really awesome to see the power of God in this completed circle - the death of one and the birth of another. ***Pictures to come soon!***

This brings me to the question of the hour - or really the eternal question of the female condition. I have a fabulous job, I own my own home, I'm self sufficient and have a great life. So, why is it all I can think about is finding that special someone and settling down to start my own family? Then I visit with my friends who have families and they always say that I'm so professional, or I have such an exciting life. The truth is that it's great but it's also a little lonely. I was at a baby shower recently and I overheard one woman wishing she had a little boy in addition to her little girl. Another girl wishing she owned her home so that she could paint her child's bedroom. And another girl wishing she could pull off the tights and boots look. Why do we always want whats on the other side? Why do I long for a family despite my great situation, while others envy my Mary Tyler Moore-esk existence? What should we want?

I recently heard an eye-opening story about a man who was a missionary in the deepest depths of Africa. The tribes he ministered to where the poorest of the poor, living in huts often without enough food. The missionary asked the head of the tribe what the biggest challenge was for his people. He responded without even thinking . . . materialism. Even with so little, his people had a distinct desire for what they perceived to be better - a straw and mud roof rather than a roof made of leaves. Two goats rather than one. The income to support two wives rather than one. ;)

The desire to have what you perceive to be better is innate in our sinful nature regardless of our circumstances. I haven't had much interaction with the filthy rich but in TV and movies, they are often portrayed to be the most jealous with a distinct desire to "keep up with the Joneses" and then some. All of this begs the bigger question for Christians, how do we know whether or not our wants are the God given "desires of our hearts" or our sinful nature getting the best of us? My gut reaction is that covet-ness is defined by your relationship to people who have what you desire. Do you resent them for their position in life or are you truly happy for them and their situation? Or do you allow resentment to grow and define your relationship . . . become the elephant in the room so to speak. What are your thoughts?