[ jante law & kingship ]

   It made so much sense once I heard it.

   Let me introduce to you something called The Jante Law, which is an unspoken, unofficial "law" in Denmark. This is something that is so deeply ingrained in the culture, not something that's taught knowingly. It's not like a parent sits their child down and explains this "law" -- nor is this taught in school. Rather, it's something you grow up with, something that becomes your lifestyle, and becomes an inheritance that is kept throughout generations unless someone consciously changes it.


   Here are the ten rules by which the Jante Law is kept :

You shall not think that you are special.
You shall not think that you are of the same standing as us.
You shall not think that you are wiser than us.
Don't fancy yourself as being better than us.
You shall not think that you know more than us.
You shall not think that you are more (important) than us.
You shall not think that you are good at anything.
You shall not laugh at us.
You shall not think that anyone cares about you.
You shall not think that you can teach us anything.

   Shortly after being here in Denmark at the school, someone mentioned this to me, asking if I knew about it. Curious, I finally looked it up online. [You can check out the website here if you wish to see.]

   The origin of this came from the novel "A Refugee Crosses His Tracks, written by Aksel Sandemose. These rules acted as the social structure in the town in which this novel takes place.

[ a beautifully eccentric relationship ]

   Stepping out into the biting Danish fall air, I reminded myself for what felt like the hundredth time that it would be worth it. I have a love-hate relationship with running. It’s wonderful and amazing when your stamina is topnotch – but otherwise, it’s just awful. And I knew how bad my stamina was at the moment. However, the end result is worth it. That feeling of utter satisfaction can’t be replaced with any amount of black licorice or baked Danish goods.

   [.. that isn’t entirely the truth.]

   As I started off, my determination for a good run grew. After getting further down the road, I decided to include God in the run. [Incredibly kind, I know. And it’s not like He wouldn’t be there if I hadn’t invited Him anyway.] One of my biggest weaknesses is that I have a difficult time really making sure to set time apart for God every day. So I figured this would be a great time to set my attention on Him, undivided.

   Before leaving, I had this little plan of doing a short little run to get back in time to say goodbye to one of the girls that was leaving. You know, run up around Fakta and come back down, no big deal. Short run, but at least I’m doing something. These were my thoughts.

   So here I am, running down the sidewalk with this plan in my head, talking with God, telling Him, hey, here I am, I’m setting this time for You only, if You want to speak to me, awesome, if not, awesome, blah blah blah.

   I take a right down the street that I figured would meet up again with Fakta, and asked Him some specific questions about something that was spoken over me before leaving. Someone told me that I’m a warrior princess, and since I have no idea what that looks like in my life, how that works with my role – I’ve been questioning Him about it.

   As I’m running, I hear Him tell me, “You have a greater amount endurance and stamina than those around you, and you have the ability to run faster than them.”