Mary Beth had a paraplegic brother named Ken and they lived in a tiny town in Tennessee. She had to push Ken around school and feed him at lunch and even help him go to the bathroom. It meant she couldn't make any friends between classes and was seen as someone with a burden. Her identity to most people was simply "Ken's Sister."
She had dreams of becoming a famous YouTuber but she didn't know about what. She loved fashion and loved picturing what clothes she would use to remake someone if she had a chance, but she didn't have any friends to help. She prayed for all this but none of her dreams seemed attainable because she was burdened with her brother.
And because of this she was always sulking.
Then one Friday night she was stuck at home caring for Ken again because their single mother worked Friday nights. She was watching a makeover show and Ken was adding his witty commentary.
The person being made over was a frumpy lady in Atlanta. And the Makeover King said, "We're gonna make you into a Barbie doll, darling."
The frumpy lady giggled and said, "If you make me into a Barbie Doll, I'll just... hug you."
Without missing a beat Ken said, "If you make me able to hug you, I'll be your Barbie doll."
Mary Beth snorted a laugh and Ken replied, "But we'd definitely have to do something about that laugh if you wanna make it big as a makeover queen."
She doubled over in embarrassment muffling her laughter, more snorts bursting through.
She regained her composure enough to see the Makeover King tell the lady, “Hunny, the most powerful thing you can do is change your own narrative. Changing my narrative is what saved my life. If you think of yourself as a Barbie, you’ll start to look like a Barbie.”
Mary Beth went to bed thinking about that. And praying. What narrative did she need to change? "God, I know it sounds vain, but I've just always wanted to be in the lime light. But I would be okay with friends." And then through wavering breath she said, "But God, I give those things to you if you have a better narrative for me."
In the middle of the night she woke up and saw her Bible on her night stand. As she reached over and put it on her lap it fell open and her eyes landed on 1 John 2:9 “Whoever loves his brother abides in the light."
This saddened her but she resolved to focus her attention on Ken, instead of all the other things she wished she could be doing. If helping her brother was God's lime light because he was the only one who saw it, she could learn to be okay with that. Other people's thoughts didn't matter that much anyway.
The next morning as she pushed Ken onto the bus she saw a girl had just gotten red bands on her braces.
Ken noticed too and when they got situated in the back he said, “Are you thinking she’d be good with those red framed glasses from the show last night?”
She looked at Ken, shared a knowing smile and nodded. She looked toward the girl again, longing to help but they weren’t even friends. But then she remembered that her narrative was to love her brother. So she looked back at him.
Then an idea struck her.
He said, “What are you thinking about, you little scheming diva?”
She smiled, “What if I really did make you my Barbie?”
“I’ve been dropping hints about this for years, girl!! But I’d greatly prefer to be your Ken Doll instead." Mary Beth Laughed. Ken continued, "I can’t soar in my social standing with these muscles but a dapper wardrobe sure wouldn’t hurt.”
Then Ken added, “And I was thinking, I would be okay if you wanted to make me into YouTube sensation. Still no promises on the hug part tho.”
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Sometimes just changing our narrative lets us see that God sees us as a hero in his story. And it usually leads to us doing it better, and finding success and our truest passions.
Raw Spoon, 6-5-21
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