This is probably a horrible thought,

but as I'm on the bus this morning I wonder if there's a correlation between the freefall in our economy, the rising prices of everything, the decline in customer service, and the explosion of unwed single parents?

I shouldn't say unwed single parents; I should say "people who have children with no reasonable idea of how they will support them, other than with government subsidies." Personally, I think that if you're not astute enough to connect the dots regarding finances and rearing children, that you shouldn't have them. But it's a free country, and financial security is not everyone's priority. OK, but why then should I have to pay for those children? I had to make decisions regarding the circumstances under which I wanted to reproduce; why should I have to pay, by way of increased taxes and costs, for those who were unwilling or unable to make those decisions? The reason I throw the decline of customer service in the mix is I believe people without parenting skills are rearing children who, in turn, have decreased performance and decreased expectations. The clueless teen behind the counter at McDonald's is an idiot not because he wants to be an idiot, but because he has no standard in his life for being anything other than an idiot.

That may seem mean to say, but I think it's meaner -- ultimately cruel -- to continue on in a society where people normalize irresponsible behavior. I think it's horrible that we have generations on welfare with no one saying "this is unacceptable behavior." If it gets said, people are immediately on the defensive; there is no time for self reflection or self examination, and the issue gets deflected off to the government, or society, or the racism of white people. While all those may be valid contributing factors, if there is no SELF examination, no SELF reflection, no admission that "hey, maybe continuing to make babies on a welfare income isn't a good idea;" or "since I'm on a welfare income, maybe I shouldn't create an atmosphere in which my kids think they need sneakers and leather jackets that cause hundreds of dollars each." -- without some admission that we've reached some apparent cultural and societal abyss, filled with behaviors that are contrary to our living full and complete lives -- without some sort of admission of the problem, it will just persist.

Then again, maybe it's just early Monday morning and I'm feeling bitchy. But I think we as humans are capable of so much more than we've demonstrated. I think we are fearfully and wonderfully made, and so often I think we don't hold up our end of the bargain -- I think we humans are living outside of our Covenant relationship with God. It's tiring, it's depressing -- I don't mean to complain, it's just that I've gotten a glimpse of something so much more marvelous, and I desire that for all humankind. Around me I see so much misery and suffering of various kinds, and it's all unneccessary. It's because we don't recognize who we are.

I just want to hear the Spirit saying that the Wait is Over, and it's God's Time. The Wait is Over, and the Sun is About to Shine... God, I'm ready to walk into my Season. I want the whole of creation to be ready to walk into our Season.

Let's see if I can insert Donald Lawrence's Seasons video here:



Chorus:
I feel seasons everywhere,
and I feel blessings in the air;
those seeds that you've sown,
It's time to come into your own, (seasons),
walk into your seasons.

Verse 1:
I know that you've invested alot,
the return has been slow, you throw up your hands
and say I give up, I just can't take it anymore;
but I hear the Spirit saying, “that it's your time
the wait is over, walk into your season”.

Verse 2:
I believe we're in a time
when God's gonna bless the saints,
those who have stayed, those who have prayed,
He's gonna fulfill the promise He made;
for I heard the Spirit say, “it's your time,
the wait is over, walk into your season”.

Chorus

Bridge:
You've survived the worst of times,
God was always on your side;
stake your claim,
write your name,
walk into this holy place.
(I hear the Spirit saying, that it's your time, the wait is over…)

Vamp 1:
The wait is over it's your time.

Vamp 2:
The wait is over.

Ending:
(I heard the Spirit say,
“that it's your time,
the wait it over),

walk into your season.