Sense and Sensibility...

Elinor Dashwood is very dull indeed. If you have never read Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen, know that Elinor is one of the dullest and least relatable characters I have come across in my Austen readings. She is almost completely void of passion and emotion and god-forbid she ever make a mistake. Dear lord Elinor, LIVE A LITTLE!

But I am still enjoying the book for where Elinor fails in exhibiting any relatable behavior, Marianne come through with flying colors. Although she is prone to wild bouts of passion and misguided affection, she at least follows her heart and dares to embrace the emotions she is feeling... sadly though those affections get the better of her and she cannot seem to live in any other place but in the throws of her emotions, both high and low.

I guess I like Marianne because she is closer to my own mind. I believe it is not right to disregard ones feelings. Although one should not be enslaved to the highs and lows of emotions and make life decisions based on feelings, it is also equally unhealthy to deny emotions their place and give no credence to them at all. Emotions, while not reliable, are not evil.

God has been showing me the danger of giving into the temptation of my emotions and making decisions based on them. But He has also been showing me that there is much to learn in the midst of my emotions and that pouring them out to Him allows me to embrace them and live them out in a healthy Christ-focused way.
My affections and desires of the my heart are not sinful, but when I begin to look to them for fulfillment and place my hope in something apart from God, they become twisted and dangerous.

"What you think about is what you care about, and what you care about it what you'll chase." - Ben Stuart

I have that statement running through my mind a million times a day. It is a powerful truth and one God is using to reshape my thoughts and my affections.



On a more entertaining note, I found this quote from Sense & Sensibility incredibly hilarious...

"'A woman of seven-and-twenty,' said Marianne, after pausing a moment, 'can never hope to feel or inspire affection again; and if her home be uncomfortable, or her fortune small, I can suppose that she might bring herself to submit to the offices of a nurse.'"

Hahaha... I have 10 months left!