Games People Play

Road Trip ~ Lake Tahoe continued

So what exactly went on behind the closed doors of our fabulous mountain retreat?

 Would you believe ~

Well, what else would you expect from a group of Christian women?  Ha! Ha!  It would be fun to let you think that we not only played just this game but were good at it, but alas, that would not be truthful.  No, we also watched chick flicks, played UNO and other games, ate a bunch of yummy food (much of which is off limits for me in my "regular" life), and just hung out.  Oh yes, we even ventured outside once or twice to visit the lake, breathe in the fresh air and jump in the hot tub (well, some of us did).

Not only did we play games, we talked about game playing ~ the kind of games that people play with each other's heads and hearts, particularly the kind that women play with other women.  What's up with that?  Are we (collective womanhood) so competitive, insecure or egotistical that we are mean to our own kind to boost ourselves up?

Kelly Valen wrote a book about the dark side of female friendships called The Twisted Sisterhood: Unraveling the Dark Legacy of Female Friendships.  Kelly has been morbidly fascinated with the subject ever since she was publicly raped at a fraternity during her freshman year in college, and her sorority sisters subsequently kicked her out of the sorority as a result.   After interviewing 3,000 women, Kelly describes her theory on female competition as the result of a woman's greater evolutionary need to fit in, blah, blah, blah.

I don't care what the reasons are for throwing each under the bus, but I do know that the antidote is love.  Not the kind that we humans are capable of because for the most part it's flawed and self-centered.  I'm talking about agape love ~ unconditional love that comes only from God and flows through us under His power and authority not ours.  I'm talking about the kind of love that is Christ-focused.  With that kind of love we don't need to play head or heart games to make ourselves feel powerful.  With that kind of love, we not only give unconditionally but receive it as well.  It's a groovy kind of love.