Lessons from Brenda: Humor and Moral Complexity

Brenda

Who was Brenda?  Well, she was funny. But she was also fiercely strong. A former captain in the army. She had a booming voice. She had a six-foot stature. Her figure started large at the shoulders and chest. It got smaller and thinner as her body went down.  She wore heels which made her even taller. She worked for me for a couple of years.  She made me laugh, but she also was ironically frustrating.

We worked in a consulting environment where we visited different clients. One day Brenda came back to our office and pulled an adding machine out of her bag.  I was a little shocked. I am like, “where did you get that?” She sneakily smiled and laughed. I got it from “XXX” a client site I will keep confidential here.  “They don’t need it they have so many!”

I was shocked, I guess is the best way to describe my reaction. Here is this strong, militant woman, who was also very religious. A Baptist who would show us pictures of her various church outfits with matching hats.  I pondered how anyone could live with such double standards.  How do you claim to be this upright honest, admirable citizen and then blatantly steal.  In her eyes an entity wasn’t a real thing. She was taking something from thin air, is the way she saw it. 

I may have lost a tiny amount of respect for Brenda that day. But I gained a little something else.  I gained a bit of daringness, I know it is not a word, but it is how I felt. Maybe I became a tiny bit more of a risk taker.  Some things are just not that serious.  Looking back, I can now say almost all adding machines have been retired to the dump. Computers and phones have replaced them. Do they even sell adding machines anymore?

Brenda also spoke of her mustard seed of faith. She truly believed that faith conquered all. I would just say, you can have all the faith you want, but God helps those who help themselves. I personally do not believe that Faith will not do the work for you.

Where ever you are today Brenda, I love you, miss you and am glad you marched thru my life.