Why 'There is no Alternative'

When setting up this blog, it wasn't difficult to choose a title, and if you're still reading by the fourth post it's probably worth explaining.

'There Is No Alternative' was coined as an acrostic for my name, by a boyfriend who later did find an alternative [to me]—and I'm sure a better one for him!  Two decades later, though, this little phrase represents a principle that I return to repeatedly.  It underlies so much of what I would want to write about, but certainly shouldn't be read as suggesting anything ultimate about me.

Last weekend, Woofy and I had the luxury of time to muse together on a little walk, since our boys had a sleepover at Nan's House.  Afterwards I continued to chew over some thoughts:

-     The lockdown draws seemingly arbitrary lines.  We're so thankful for family childcare, but it seems senseless to me (company-craving extrovert!) that we can't go in for a cuppa when collecting the boys.

-     I exchanged friendly waves with a man in a passing car.  I saw that he had a learning disability.  We lamented ways that society attributes value to people based on perceived contribution.  Might we be at risk of perpetuating this in our churches?

-     Further along, we met a lady who looked intently at her dog without lifting her eyes to us at all. I wondered why.

It would be so easy to draw comforting conclusions:

-     “A cuppa would make no difference since the boys have had close contact, and nobody would see or know.”

-     “Of course, our church values everyone. All are welcome to worship.  We wouldn't...”

-     “People are so rude/unfriendly/preoccupied.”

What does all this have to do with the idea of ‘There Is No Alternative?’  Well, these wrestling thoughts show something of my natural tendency towards making things suit me, comparison (whether self-congratulating or self-bashing), and distanced evaluation of others.  Tina, though, is called to a different way.

So, is T.I.N.A. about a formula for right behaviour or dogma?  Absolutely not! Recently, as a Christian friend contrasted their own attitude with that of those who "don't know the Lord."  I found myself pushing back, because I just don't think it's that simple.  I know some beautifully long-suffering people who as far as I'm aware have no consciousness of relationship with God.  I can also think of 'believers' who, in their pain, have been resentful and bitter.  Instead, T.I.N.A. is simply about ongoing commitment to a pursuit, a way of life, that I increasingly see as my only reasonable option.  Don't misunderstand: this is not the sulky resignation of one cornered by law enforcement.  It's more like joining the rescue-and-rebuild team, having been saved from the rubble of a city you’ve never been outside of.

I was a rather proud (though insecure) ‘good Christian girl,’ but at the age of 18 I began to see things differently (oh, it's a slow work in progress!!)  I was challenged by the lives of others, alongside Romans 12:1-2 (in the Bible).  It follows a wonderful declaration about how kind and great God is, and urges those who recognise this to live wholeheartedly for God.  The version (original NLT) that I remember from that time said: “...When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask?  Don't copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person, by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

T.I.N.A. is who I am, or rather, who I want to be shaped into.  This blog explores some of my grappling with 'the behaviours and customs of this world,' examining my own attitudes and approaches, and the joy and pain of refusing to settle for less than God's ongoing transformation.  Based on what I've learned and experienced of God so far, to live for anything else is increasingly out of the question.  There are beautiful and significant people, contexts and causes all around me, but none of these can be the foundation of my choices and direction.

Perhaps some would prefer these posts to be lighter on the ‘God stuff.’  Well, this blog explores life through my eyes, and wouldn't make sense otherwise.  I don't mean to impose my views—that's the very opposite of the Jesus way—but I am compelled to offer my non-airbrushed experiences and perspectives for you to do with as you will.  T.I.N.A. is about learning to live for and empowered by the Servant-King, the self-giving God, the other-centred Spirit of life.  I've come to the end of myself countless times, and truly, There Is No Alternative.⬦

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