Friday, August 5, 2011

Know it All

Know -it- all = snarky sentiment applied to a person by another person usually in derogatory tone of voice. Often meant to hurt the feelings of the accused.

  One of my biggest peeves in life is people who refuse to learn from other people's mistakes. I operate under the assumption that in reality, life is like a script to a movie. It's basically the same script just played out by different actors. Now, I realize that varying actors might bring a different emotional spin to the action and we may feel more deeply for some than we do others or we may connect better to some actors than others. But no matter how the actor plays the scene, when she gets out of the car in the dark alley, something is gonna jump out and get her. And we are gonna scream! Because we "knew-it-all" the time.

  Teaching high school is kind of like watching a horror movie over and over. I watch different actors act out the same script. I see them get out of the car in the dark alley and I know what is going to happen to them. The same goes for my personal life. I have lived long enough now that I am watching my younger relatives act out the same script I did. They are getting married and having babies and making big decisions. And sometimes, I watch them and it brings tears of joy to my eyes. Other times, I'm watching them jump out of that car in the dark alley and I want to scream because I know what's waiting for them out there in the darkness.

  I guess it's because I am a know it all (I mean according to my assumption) and what I know I learned the hard way. I know it because I already acted out that script. I learned by getting out into that darkness myself. And that evil that is lurking in that alleyway is so much worse than anything Hollywood could portray on a movie screen. And I want to scream because all of them think it's going to be different for them. That somehow their script ends with them beating the bad guy. And while I'm not a total pessimist who thinks this can't be done, I am a realist who knows that the beating you are going to take while trying will change the rest of your life.

 So, this know-it-all has a heavy heart tonight because I am seeing more and more actors that are so special to me jump out into the darkness. And, as I mentioned, I've been there. And I know the evil. And I want more than anything for a new script to be written. I want people to realize how difficult it is to fight the bad guy.

   You see, the devil is the one who called me a know-it-all. We all know that when watching that scene in the movie where the car dies and the girl inevitably gets out, we are thinking, "Why? Why is she doing that?" We know what's going to happen. But what that girl is thinking is that she can get away. It will be different for her. But she doesn't realize what's out there. We think we know, but we don't. And once we find out, the devil says to us, "ha ha. you just thought you knew. You thought you wanted what was out here! and I've got you now you little know-it-all!"

  I ask for all who read this to pray diligently for me that I would pray more diligently for my boys. I don't want to watch them jump out of the car in the dark alley. I know the urge to do so is so strong. But I want more than anything for them to act out a different script than I have. Because I don't want them to be a know-it-all.