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Before explaining why I was standing outside with 200 people in a pair of pajamas labeled “Trophy Wife,” it probably would be a good idea to explain why I own such a pair of pajamas in the first place.
It has to do with my widely known affection for moose. Well, perhaps not very widely known, but now you are in on the secret. It began with the show Northern Exposure which I watched religiously in the early 1990’s. I envied those living in places where moose just walked down the middle of the road. A couple years ago I finally had the chance to go to Alaska with the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd movement and discovered that you don’t really want moose walking down your road because they can be quite dangerous. But this hasn’t stopped me from admiring them from afar: their long legs with knobbly knees, their disproportionately large antlers, the way their mouths move when they chew on leaves. Among my dear CGS catechist sisters this fascination has led to me receiving a good number of moose related gifts like moose salad tossers (which I use all the time.) A moose poster (that my husband refuses to hang in the house.) Moose earrings. (I am still trying to figure out the right occasion to sport those.) And, naturally, moose pajamas.
Except that because in the CGS-world-beyond-Alaska we don’t actually spend a whole lot of time with moose, my pajamas flaunt white tail deer masquerading as moose, each labeled “Trophy Wife.” My youngest brother had to point this out to me after spotting my pjs hanging on the laundry line. I’d not noticed the discrepancy before, nor had I noticed the phrase splattered across both top and bottom. Mind you, I don’t hunt and didn’t even know what a “trophy wife” was before looking it up*, but I do love the pajamas because I love the CGS friend who gave them to me. (Plus, they are very comfortable!)
The point is that I never wore them in public before last week in Washington DC when—just as I was turning out the reading light the night before a significant presentation the next morning—some dingbat pulled the hotel fire alarm for jollies and I had to spend the next hour outside with all the other Courtyard Marriott guests. I suppose all of us were in some form of disarray and who we should really pity is the poor mother who had just arrived on an international flight with her one-year-old newly awakened by the blaring of the alarm. But I will say this: No one else was standing outside in pajamas advertising their “Trophy Wife” status. And yet once again, I heard my mother in my ear, “God sometimes does things to keep us humble.” The good news is that my eyebrows have now returned to something that looks like they belong on my face. And, besides losing my dignity and sleep, the presentations in DC went just fine. It was a total pleasure to work with the National Association of Evangelicals and the Matthew 5:9 team on a day related to Redeeming Conflict, and then an equal delight to meet with the Executive Directors Network at Trinity University to talk about Redeeming Power.
However, I was so harried last week between the extreme eyebrows and the fire alarm and the talks themselves that I think I forgot to tell my husband his trophy wife was coming home. From the plane I texted him, “In the Dreamworld I land at 12:20.” I was trying to communicate that if everything in the airline industry ran on time (a big IF) I’d be back in Atlanta by lunchtime, but he thought I was telling him I was en route to Disney World. Wasn’t he surprised when I popped in two hours later!?! But he wasn’t terribly far off. I leave tomorrow for two weeks in Florida, to be part of two different CGS courses in which the participants know nothing of my fetish for moose—yet. I think maybe I’ll pack a different pair of pajamas.
In the “in between” moments, I am working hard with a couple of colleagues on a new website for preachers (and those in the ministry of communications in general) around how to talk about truth. We are collecting sermon and essay samples from a variety of different faith traditions to encourage the reclaiming of truth as a core value to people of faith. We commit ourselves to seeking truth in a time of mis/disinformation. We commit ourselves to speaking honestly when lying seems to be in vogue. And we commit ourselves to being true to each other even when it is tempting to burn bridges. I’ll have more to say on this venture in weeks to come, but for now, check out the short preaching I did related to this endeavor last week. Please pray that the project can come together, and if you know of a preacher who’d like to contribute something to this effort, let me know.
Meanwhile… may you enjoy a night of uninterrupted sleep in your own favorite pajamas.
*A “trophy wife” is apparently an attractive younger woman who is married to a successful older man and spends all his money. I’d like to say that this is half true, but there is dispute in my household as to which half.