Are you the exception?

Today, I endured a lovely noise and laying still for about 30 minutes…buzz, buzz, buzzzzzzzz (you get the picture). It was so loud in my ears that I had to wear ear plugs. Then, I was charged $366.00 just for that! Ever had an MRI? I don’t even know what MRI stands for, but I had one today. They put you in a long tube and you must not move at all. Not a morning of fun. And the surgery to correct my knee will not only cost much more, but will also require a 4-week recovery. But, it’s my own fault. I have no one else to blame but myself.In high school, our pom pon squad thought it would be cool if we did this fun move where we got really high on our toes and then dropped directly down to the floor, on our knees, fast. Boom. I still remember the sound of all these knees pounding down on the gym floor. Wow – and it looked amazing. You could hear the audience go “ahhh” (or was it “ouch”, I can’t remember). The move was illegal in Missouri because, I think, it might cause knee problems in the future. We knew this was a possibility, but the move was so cool. It was worth it! Or was it? We thought, at the time, even though the move was illegal and our sponsor wasn’t crazy about us doing it, that we were the exception to the rule. “We are Pattonville. We’re invincible. We can do whatever we want.” It was a momentary thrill and any potential consequences would come much later in life. “And, besides, we don’t need our knees when we’re old, right?”Ah, the exception to the rule – don’t we all see ourselves in that category at some time or another? The consequences don’t apply to me. Or, if consequences come, I’ll handle them just fine. Little do we know what 10, 20 or 30 years down the line will bring. As a bride-to-be wanting to be healthy for my wedding and for, hopefully, child-bearing, let me just say that you need your knees when you’re old. I can’t workout, I can’t wear many shoes (the cute ones of course) because they don’t have enough support and I can’t even walk steps when it’s cold or I’ve walked too much. There are very clear consequences when we abuse the gifts God has given us (like our knees) – simple biology, cause and effect, seems to be logical. But, how do you tell a bright-eyed 17-year-old pommie that she can’t do the coolest move in the routine?There’s a chastity lesson here. This is not shocking, of course, because I can find a chastity message in just about anything. I guess I spend my whole life talking to bright-eyed teens who believe they are the exception to the rule when it comes to the Church’s teaching on sexuality. “I’m really in love and care for this girl.” “It broke us up and crushed me, but I’d do it all over again. No regrets.” “I’ll be able to live chastity in marriage, be faithful, even if I don’t live it now – I’m stronger than most.” “We can mess around and not go ‘too far’.”With teens, I try to convince them that the pain which follows pre-marital sexual activity will make them look back one day and say, “What a fool I was!” I hear one adult after another (and many teens, too) look back on their sexual past with disdain, always wanting teens to know – it’s not worth it to sexually active before marriage. As frustrated as I might get at the many teens who blow off all our clear, and I believe logical, warnings and the call we offer for a better life, I need to remember how it felt when I was invincible.In fact, I can fall into believing I’m the exception to the rule even to this day...I don’t need to pray as much as they say, Jesus and I are okay.I don’t need to slow down on eating all these goodies, I’m still young.I don’t need to stop watching all those movies; I’m beyond being affected by their immorality.The cause and effect principle works both ways – for ill when we make poor decisions, and for good with good decisions. The gifts we’ve been given all have a positive consequence for our lives when used appropriately, within the bounds for which they were created. Knees help us walk, sex gives us bonding in marriage and babies, prayer connects us the Creator and Love of the Universe, healthy food lets me play with my grandkids and watching good entertainment keeps my thoughts pure and loving. When I trust in the ways God created my body, heart, mind and soul to work, my life just runs a lot smoother.In what ways might you consider yourself the “exception”?