fallible follower

Gary Hart was a guest speaker for the adult education group at my office yesterday. I honestly had no idea who this man was and why he was famous enough to draw in a crowd of 300 people on a Wednesday afternoon. After digging and googling, and listening to the taunts and jeers of co-workers, students, and passersby alike, I learned that many people compare Gary to Ted Haggard or John Edwards. Even though this man was a well-known Democratic Senator from Colorado (who also ran in the presidential election the year I was born), all anyone can say about him is something about his scandalous affair and crude press statements.

As a woman, I look at these men with loathing. The joke is always that men leave for newer, younger models, with blonde hair and big boobs, because they just get tired of the same cow all these years. So, that little, nasty fear is always somewhere in the back of our minds and we take it to the beauty shop, the gym, the clothing store, to get the botox injections, the dentists, and so on. We spend a lot of energy trying to stay younger, not only because we hate wrinkles, but because we want to be the younger, newer, hotter model that makes him stay.

As a wife, I look at these men with a deep heartache. Can you imagine the pain these women feel when they publically discover the secrets and lies their husbands have kept hidden all this time? Can you imagine the humiliating pang that seeps into every crevice and major organ these women have? Can you even imagine being a wife of a man and not knowing who he was during your whole marriage?

As a person, I see them in a little different light. (One of my new favorite words is fallible.)
         Adjective: Capable of making mistakes or being erroneous.
I hear that we are all sinners and I hear that we all fall short, but this word brings it home. Any time we miss God's mark--His words, His promises, His love--we fall short, and in that falling is where we make mistakes. I'm so human that making mistakes is what comes naturally. I am so incredibly capable of being erroneous. I am fallible. We are fallible.
As a fallible follower of God, I see these men as people with bad heart issues who made some bad choices. And I very clearly remember a time when those kinds of temptations were brought my way and how easy it could have been to give in to them. We are told to run towards God, but temptation is so close that you never really have to run, you could slip and trip right into it. I know how easy this temptation is, how good it can look, and the "quick healing" it offers; it looks like a better way of life, something that will fix the mess.

I see these men in all kinds of light, but in remembering that I too am so fallible and capable to goof up, I can see them as lost, hurting men who just need help, because we all need help.