Barbie vs Superman
Author: John Bisceglia
“Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40: 30,31
I remember as a child how my friends and I would tie bath towels or small sheets around our necks like capes and run around with our hands in front of us like Superman, like we were flying and could do anything. I also remember playing dolls with my sisters. Barbie would have the most wonderful outfits with sparkles and satin material, with her abnormally large breasts and her malformed feet that only could wear high-heels. These were the images that supported my youth. As I grew up, I soon realized that I couldn’t run faster than a speeding bullet or jump higher than a tall building, and my sisters were disappointed that they never developed into the full figure of Barbie. We instead gave ourselves equally unreasonable, unattainable goals to be perfect adults.
With age, hopefully, comes wisdom, and we realize that having goals is noble but many can be unrealistic. We need to stop self-abusing behavior when we don’t reach these goals. We must give ourselves permission to fail, knowing that we can learn more from failing than what we perceive as success.
Isaiah is giving this wisdom to us: yes, it is great to fly and wonderful to run; but the best is taking one more step. Then, with the help of one another and God, we can and will make it, NOT as Barbie or Superman but as ourselves.
Dear Creator, help us to walk the path you have for us, to not get distracted from it, and to know that that path is the same for all of us, the path of love.
