Equal But Different.

[Hassan]

[quote name='CatherineM' post='1744948' date='Jan 7 2009, 12:51 AM']I had two foster sons. I loved them both equally, but could not treat them the same. One was a chemical exposure child who had socialization issues, coordination issues, and learning disabilities. His personality was such that he could sit in a chair, reading a book without moving for hours at a time. I actually had to teach him how to play with other kids. He would stand across the street watching other kids play, scream to get their attention, and then would run away when they looked at him. He thought if someone got in his face, that they wanted to be friends, and had his feelings hurt when he got hit instead.

The second boy was fetal alcohol. He was hyperactive and never sat still. He did well in school after I got him caught up. He made friends easily, was a natural athlete, but had serious issues with sugar. I went through many activities with the older boy trying to find something that "worked" for him. Boy Scouts ended up being his thing. The younger boy played baseball, and I mean every day. He was on two teams, one of which was a traveling AAU team. The baseball was much more expensive and time consuming. Each got what they needed, and I spent time with each when they needed it, but it was never perfectly equal.

I know that some people think that as a woman, I should be upset at the idea that I can't be a priest or a deacon. My oldest son played two years of little league before he got his first hit. When he got on base by a walk, I had to position myself near 1st base so I could yell at him when to run, because he couldn't figure it out. He was actually quite content to just sit the bench and cheer for the other kids. He was Bobby Hill from King of the Hill. He never felt bad that he couldn't play baseball in highschool. He knew he wasn't born to be a ball player, so he never sweat it. I was never meant to be a pilot. I hate airplanes. I never sweat the fact that I can't be a pilot. Horses scare me, and I am too tall to be a jockey, so I never sweat that either.

There are a lot of things in life that God didn't make me to be, so why would I waste a moment of the precious life I have been given worrying about things I can't be or can't have? When people try to be something they aren't, all it leads to is unhappiness. I have felt most content with my life when I have surrendered to God's will for me rather than fight against it. I don't feel less loved because I was made as a woman, I feel blessed that God loved me enough to make me the way he did.[/quote]

thank you for sharing this. I think I understand it now.

[rkwright]

[quote name='CatherineM' post='1744948' date='Jan 6 2009, 11:51 PM']I had two foster sons. I loved them both equally, but could not treat them the same. One was a chemical exposure child who had socialization issues, coordination issues, and learning disabilities. His personality was such that he could sit in a chair, reading a book without moving for hours at a time. I actually had to teach him how to play with other kids. He would stand across the street watching other kids play, scream to get their attention, and then would run away when they looked at him. He thought if someone got in his face, that they wanted to be friends, and had his feelings hurt when he got hit instead.

The second boy was fetal alcohol. He was hyperactive and never sat still. He did well in school after I got him caught up. He made friends easily, was a natural athlete, but had serious issues with sugar. I went through many activities with the older boy trying to find something that "worked" for him. Boy Scouts ended up being his thing. The younger boy played baseball, and I mean every day. He was on two teams, one of which was a traveling AAU team. The baseball was much more expensive and time consuming. Each got what they needed, and I spent time with each when they needed it, but it was never perfectly equal.

I know that some people think that as a woman, I should be upset at the idea that I can't be a priest or a deacon. My oldest son played two years of little league before he got his first hit. When he got on base by a walk, I had to position myself near 1st base so I could yell at him when to run, because he couldn't figure it out. He was actually quite content to just sit the bench and cheer for the other kids. He was Bobby Hill from King of the Hill. He never felt bad that he couldn't play baseball in highschool. He knew he wasn't born to be a ball player, so he never sweat it. I was never meant to be a pilot. I hate airplanes. I never sweat the fact that I can't be a pilot. Horses scare me, and I am too tall to be a jockey, so I never sweat that either.

There are a lot of things in life that God didn't make me to be, so why would I waste a moment of the precious life I have been given worrying about things I can't be or can't have? When people try to be something they aren't, all it leads to is unhappiness. I have felt most content with my life when I have surrendered to God's will for me rather than fight against it. I don't feel less loved because I was made as a woman, I feel blessed that God loved me enough to make me the way he did.[/quote]

Catherine I love your posts...

Hassan... not every statement is a math equation or philosophical statement. Sure, if you take something super philosophical, then any two things that are equal cannot by definition by different. 1+1=2=/=3 I get what you're saying - two things with exactly the same properties are the same thing, not different.

Sometimes the church speaks in common sense terms too...

[Galloglasses' Alt]

[quote name='rkwright' post='1748021' date='Jan 10 2009, 02:21 AM']Catherine I love your posts...

Hassan... not every statement is a math equation or philosophical statement. Sure, if you take something super philosophical, then any two things that are equal cannot by definition by different. 1+1=2=/=3 I get what you're saying - two things with exactly the same properties are the same thing, not different.
[b]
Sometimes the church speaks in common sense terms too...[/b] [/quote]
Epic

[MithLuin]

Except, more often, the Church speaks in philosophical terms to avoid misunderstanding. Thus, the Church is likely to say that men and women have equal dignity and leave it at that (the fact that men and women are different from one another is something we are all aware of without the Church teaching us so.)

The people on this forum, though, may speak common sense to one another