12.01.2011

'druthers

I love words like 'druthers.

We stumbled across this today in class [yes, in "To Kill a Mockingbird" :-)] when Atticus tells Jem, "We can't always have our 'druthers." I paused as I often do while reading with my students and explained what this word meant.

It originated from the combination of "would rather" or "I'd rather." When you run those words together it comes out sounding a bit like "druther." Eventually it came to be written as this [through the process of metathesis, as any good linguist would know!], and was most often used in the plural case, referring to things we want, or preferences we have.

And this got me to thinking, how many times in life do we focus on our 'druthers? As Atticus said, we can't always have them, and many of us would add that we feel we very rarely get them.

While thinking about my 'druthers today, I was confronted with someone else's reality: Jaque, my principal's wife and an elementary teacher, a friend from church, and a 30-something year old woman in our community, had to go back for her 2nd round of chemotherapy today. And my next door neighbor with two young boys was recently diagnosed with a rare form of cancer for which they don't know of a cure. Talk about 'druthers.

Jaque keeps up a journal on a website and as I read her thoughts about her 2nd round today, and her her fears over losing her hair, I realized how silly my 'druthers seem at the moment. She also wrote about some mundane things in life, that are immense blessings to her right now: keeping food down, a day when her students behave so she isn't so exhausted, strength, and her hair.

How often do I get upset because "I'd rather" my hair cooperate more in the morning? How often do I get annoyed that "I'd rather" not have to get up and go to the bathroom 2 times in the night because of my pregnancy? I have hair. I'm healthy enough to have a baby.

Perspective is something that is difficult to swallow sometimes. I think it is because we get so hung up by our 'druthers.

The Lord thankfully does not give us everything we want. And sometimes this means He stands aside and lets us suffer from things that are a part of this fallen world in which we live. But always, whether we have our 'druthers or not, He has promised to be there with us.

Please continue to pray for Jaque and her husband in this battle, as well as my neighbor and his family, but also let their struggle force you to not be so focused on your 'druthers and be thankful for each day we have.

2 comments:

ashley putnam said...

"The Lord thankfully does not give us everything we want." Love that. Love it. Might have to make some sort of decorative thing to hang on my wall that says that very thing.

Amanda said...

First off, love TKAM. So much love. Last night at our women's ministry Christmas Gala a young mom of 3 shared her testimony about how God has walked her through her husband's unemployment, her cancer diagnosis, and her father-in-law's cancer diagnosis (who they were living with). As she talked about our faith being tested through fiery trials, I couldn't help but be reminded that for each of my "druthers" that I fret over, I am so blessed. Perspective, it's so mighty. Will be praying for your friends!