Sacrificing just to be normal?

Presently, I am reading a novel by Ursula Hegi, Stones from the River. It tells the story of Trudi from 1915, the year of her birth, through 1952. She lives in Germany, but that is not her greatest challenge. She was born a dwarf and most of her years finds her wishing, dreaming, and hoping for the day she would grow to be normal. The thing that struck me last night is her expressed desire to give up anything, an arm or leg or even, on of each, to be normal.

It caused me to pause and ask myself, “What would I be willing to give up and what do I desire so much that I would be willing to make such a huge sacrifice?” That is kind of an earthshaking, mountain moving type of question to contemplate … isn’t it?

For Trudi, she had to think through the process carefully as to which arm and which leg would she be willing to give up in order to be like all the other children at her school. After much contemplation she determined that she would still be able to use a crutch to walk if the arm and leg were from opposite sides of her body. But, what her thinking failed to produce was the understanding that if she didn’t have a leg then she would be defeating her purpose of being normal … the ability to be picked and included in the various games during recess. The crutch would hinder her ability to run and jump … like all the other children.

What is the heart’s desire … deep seated wish … for which a major sacrifice would be required in order to obtain it? What has become so important, so mind/heart controlling, so all consuming that would cause anyone to make a major sacrifice such as an arm or leg?

Trudi’s experience, though fictional in nature, still hits home. Reality is that other children can be cruel with their name calling and finger pointing. Recess can be cruel in the choosing-up-sides process (oh, how I hated this because I was always last to be chosen and many times only after an argument between the two “captains” – always the same two athletic guys - as to who had to pick me last time and ended up losing the game … I literally dreaded physical education). And, like Trudi, how did I express the anger that built up inside of me? And, even more importantly, does some of that anger still reside within me?

Finally, the other thought that this book is causing me to struggle with is this: What is normal? And who sets those standards by which we end up judging others as being classified as “normal” or “not normal”? Plus, who gives us the authority … or even the responsibility … to make such a determination?

Reading is a great past time … with every character, situation and page one can be confronted by important life issues that are often missed a book is not picked up and consumed.

Quote for today: “Researchers at Johns Hopkins University reported that 30 years ago, the greatest fears of grade school children were: 1) Animals, 2) Being in a dark room, 3) High places, 4) Strangers, 5) Loud noises. Today, kids are afraid of the following: 1) Divorce, 2) Nuclear war, 3) Cancer, 4) Pollution, 5) Being mugged.” Back to the Bible Today, Summer, 1990