Call Me Crazy but ...

I made a new friend at She Speaks this year - actually I made several as I do every year. She Speaks is like preschool. Everyone feels new and awkward, but quickly gets along fine once they discover they all like the same things ... swings and crayons, or in our case, words and Jesus. But that's beside the point. The new friend I'm referencing is Hillary at The Other Mama.

Hillary is some kind of crazy, y'all. (You've been forewarned.) Today Hillary is hosting a link party on the topic of "Crazy Things." She says, "Any crazy or fun thing goes! Just write a post about it and link up!" She invited my participation, and I obliged. You can too. So head over there when you're done here and I'm certain you'll find a few laughs in her crazy party.


I'm not promising, however, that you'll laugh at my "crazy" post.


Unless you are a nervous laugher.


You see I'm not going to tell you about any of the many crazy things I've thought, done, liked or said. I'm not going to tell you about ...

• the crazy things I eat like peanut butter & banana sandwiches with mayo, or pimento cheese on steak.
• the crazy things I think, like when I wear something once but don't get it dirty enough to wash, I feel like I can't hang it back in the closet with the totally clean clothes because it will somehow contaminate them.
• the crazy things I've worn. (see my wardrobe circa 1984 and something called parachute pants)
• the crazy ideas I carried out like laying out in the sun with butter on (wonder if Paula Deen does that), or jumping down the laundry chute (would make for a good short-cut between floors, except getting stuck at the bottom really slows you down).
• the crazy products I've tried like Sun-In. (Notice how dark my natural hair color is? It turned a shade of orange only a Clemson fan could love. The only thing worse was when I tried to correct it by dying it jet black and looked like Elvira for 6 weeks. I was goth before goth was cool.)
• the crazy things I've said, like when I demanded of Rick the other day, "Guess what I didn't even think of?!" He replied, "Most of the time I can't even guess what you are thinking, Rach, much less what you didn't think."

Nope, not going to tell you about all the crazy things I own, love or do. Instead I'm going to tell you about a crazy thought bouncing 'round my head today:

What if Christianity isn't real?

Cue the nervous laughter. (Here is where you might call me crazy.)

Seriously, what if none of it--God, Jesus, salvation, life-after-death, heaven, the Bible--what if none of it is real? Stay with me here. Ever had that thought? If so, what did you do with it?
If you read my last post you'll realize I'm in a contemplate-deep-questions-about-God mood this week. So I thought it out and arrived at this conclusion: I think I would still try to follow Christ even if Christianity isn't real and there is nothing beyond this life. (Here's where you can call me crazy again.) But I believe in Jesus' way of life -- the way of love, of rising above, of self-sacrificing, of giving, of forgiving, of being honest and authentic. It's a beautiful, if difficult, way to live.
So I decided I would follow Him irregardless - even if that makes me "crazy."
Let me clarify, I do believe Christianity is real. (God, Jesus, salvation, life-after-death, heaven, the Bible - all of it.) There is evidence for it in history. And there is evidence for it in my heart and my life. It's not often that I question it but once in a while I do. My pastor likes to say the opposite of faith is not doubt, it's certainty. I agree. And none of us can be 100% certain on this side of eternity - that's why it takes faith, and that's why faith is the currency of God's kingdom.
So maybe I'm not so crazy to momentarily entertain such thoughts after all. Today I questioned my beliefs, and wound up strengthening them.
Finally, I think I can say with relative certainty that butter-burned-skin, parachute-pants, and Clemson-orange-hair is not a good look for me. But then you're probably sane enough to have known that already, aren't you?