Camelot Revisited
When I was a kid there were stories and fairy tales of kings and queens, knights and dragons. Camelot was a dream and we were told how great it was. It was so great that when Kennedy was President they called his marriage and presidency Camelot revisited. So when it comes to our marriages what if we went back to a “magical time” to see just how close to having a happy ending we can get.
To revisit Camelot I think we need to go back to the very first relationship. In Genesis we have the story of Adam and Eve. It can sound a little crazy, the Bible story about how all this began, but do not get stuck on what you think about how it began to lose the lessons we can learn from the story. Here is how Genesis 2 tells the story.
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is right for him.” So the Lord God caused the man to sleep very deeply, and while he was asleep, God removed one of the man’s ribs. Then God closed up the man’s skin at the place where he took the rib. The Lord God used the rib from the man to make a woman, and then he brought the woman to the man. And the man said, “Now, this is someone whose bones came from my bones, whose body came from my body. I will call her ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of man.” So a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two will become one body. The man and his wife were naked, but they were not ashamed. Genesis 2:18, 21-25 (NCV)
After each day of creation God said it was good. For some time He looked and said “It is good.” Then one day He watches Adam and realizes that something is not good. Adam was alone. God knew we could not and should not make it on our own. We were created for companionship and relationship with other humans. Being alone is the worst feeling in the world at times. There is too much to face in this world to go it alone. Over and over again the Bible talks about how much better it is for us to have someone to take this journey with us.
God also brought Adam and Eve together so they could be complete together. If we could all just realize that God is smart enough to bring people into our lives to help us become more complete as people. It is funny but there are things that we each do in our marriage that drives Shelly and me crazy. Only when we stop to think it through do we realize that the crazy is just the other person making up where we fall short at times. Shelly and I push each other towards things we would not normally do or believe. Always remember that we are together to make each other better.
In the original Camelot there was not even shame. Can you imagine, being in a relationship without shame? Where you could be totally honest and not hide the way you feel or see things? That you could just be who you are and it not cost you anything. That was what the garden was like in the beginning. Adam and Eve hung together with no shame between them.
I know that you are thinking “Man I live a long way from Camelot.” Well that is why we are going to spend the next couple of months looking at Camelot and figuring out how to bring what Adam and Eve had to our relationships.
This means that…
We are going to look at ourselves
We are going to look at our marriages
We are going to help our kids in their future search
We are going to remember a time of Camelot
As we go through this search together…
Promise you will not hide in the woods
Promise you won’t keep the masquerade ball going
Promise you won’t run from the dragon
Promise you will honestly look at your marriage