Spiritual Blindness

 

Today's sermon focused on John 9 and the story of Jesus healing the blind man. I want to reflect a bit about the story and how it unfolds.

 

His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

John 9:2

 

As was common in the day (and for some still today) things like birth defects and afflictions were seen as being caused by sin and yet Jesus clearly answers.

 

“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him." John 9:3

 

Back in my post Finding Beauty in Imperfections  I wrote " There can't be anything more beautiful than that. In our imperfections we provide God with opportunities to be in our lives. For His power to flow into the world via our weaknesses."  I feel like God is giving me bread crumbs on my spiritual quest and they are appreciated!!

 

Another thing I noted during the sermon was that Jesus healed him on the Sabbath. Remember in my investigation of Jesus post called Erasing the Lines I said I felt he was a "line crosser" and thankful we should be for that.

 

These I call the "clues" in my investigation. Little insights that tie together and make sense and allow me to little by little reveal the path God is setting before me. A path of discovery and greater awareness. A personal journey, not one of glory and fame but of something of much more value, a spiritual quest.

 

Jesus said,“For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.
Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?” 
 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains. John 9: 39-41

This one is a little tangled for me. It's what Jesus told the Pharisees when they questioned him after the man said he believed him to be the Lord. Jesus came to the world so that all could "see" or at least have the opportunity to see. So Jesus is saying, if you were blind (did not have the ability to see) you would not be guilty BUT now that you proclaim that you are able to see (even though you do not see it correctly) you will be held accountable.

 

Remember I've talked before about "whispers from God" and I always talk about serendipity, you know those uncanny times when we find what we are looking for even before we realize that we are looking for it. Little pieces of a puzzle that fall into place in such unexpected ways.

 

 

So this was in the church newsletter that I picked up this morning. It's for the men's group obviously but I think I shall endeavor to locate and buy a copy of the book. The title intrigues me. I know with it being Easter it isn't all that strange to find something like this but still it has crossed my path and I feel inclined to give it a look. I am sure it can broaden and deepen my Investigating Jesus series.

and this too......

 

Hugs to all of you. May you see with new eyes, hear with new ears, and never be blinded to the love and hope that is available to you.

 

 

 

 

More Than a Song

Music is often an integral part of worship and why shouldn't it be. Music touches the essence of the soul and is an avenue of expression unlike simple words. Not only does it offer praise but it is uplifting to the spirit. We are all part of the song of the universe, each of us a note in the great melody of life.

 

I will give thanks to Him in song. What a wonderful venue for praise, worship and comfort. Yet we know it's about more than a song. The song itself is like the icing on the cake. There are so many more ingredients in the "heart of worship."

 

 

You're looking into my heart. This is why it is so essential not to judge other people, their faith or lack of it, the way they worship, seek spiritual connections and relate to God. In fact there's no need to at all. Jesus knows what is there. He searches much deeper than our human eyes could ever see or our brains could ever understand. He sees to the heart of the matter. So when we feel inclined to believe that others aren't "living their faith" then we must remind ourselves of this. We have NO IDEA what is in their hearts but God does. Truthfully the way they live their faith is no concern of ours.

 

 

Hugs to each of you. I hope that some little tidbit I share is helpful in helping you get back to the heart of worship. That you will feel Christ's love and know that his connection to your heart is strong. Even when the hills are steep and the roads are long, He is there to touch our souls and lift up our spirits.

Get Out of the Boat

As I continue to reflect on and "investigate"  Jesus, I am reminded of one of my favorite stories. The one of Jesus walking on the water. When Peter calls to him Jesus tells him to come. Peter gets out of the boat immediately but as he starts toward Christ he is overcome with fear and is sinking. Jesus reaches and catches him.  Matthew 14

I'm a lot like Peter, not in his courage of following Jesus and being a disciple but during his times of doubt and fear. For me getting out of the boat would be easy. I'd be quick and brave for those first moments. It's the long haul that trips me up. Fear and doubt so often creep up on me, pouncing like a tiger in the jungle. Strangling me and silencing me.

For those of you that truly know me in real life, you might be doubting that silencing part. Yet there are times when I am paralyzed by my fear. Fear of not having enough time here on earth, fear of loved ones being hurt or lost, fear that I've missed doing thing I "should" have done. It's a silent fear I carry, invisible to the outside world. Through the years I have fought and won the worry battle many times. Like Peter I am quick to get out of the boat but then find I lack the faith to do the things God wants me to do. It is my personal journey to move forward in faith with a calm soul that knows the grace of God. It's a path overgrown with weeds but I am slowly and carefully choosing the stones to step on.  

The boat story is not Peter's only moment of weakness. It is he that denies Christ three times before the rooster crows in Matthew 26:34. Upon discovering that Jesus was right and he had disowned him, Peter wept bitterly. It is hard to love someone, to believe in Him and find that you have fallen short of your claim of being willing to die with Him. Yet God knows our weakness and his ability to forgive and accept us back into his loving grace is endless.

 

 

One of the craziest dreams I've ever had is an end of the world, Revelations dream. In the dream people are being taken up, saved from the final days of tribulation but I am left behind. I am overcome with fear and dread. My faith has been found lacking. Yet in the course of the dream (or perhaps a nightmare) I find that God must leave some people behind. Who would bring others to him in those final days if all that believe are gone?  The oxymoron of the whole nightmare is that I am left behind for lack of faith (perhaps or for some other unknown reason) but then must "resist" evil and not deny my faith during the horrific final days. Crazy right?  I know no one has dreams of the end of times but me, right?

 

 

 

 Hugs to all of you. I hope my rambling musing about Christ, fear, and faith hasn't exposed my personal weaknesses too much. Yet it is in "being real" that we discover truths about ourselves that allow our spiritual journey to continue in an even more meaningful direction. I hope you will travel the paths with me and discover the hero inside of you.

What are You Hungry for?

 

What is hunger? Hunger is a feeling of discomfort or weakness caused by lack of food, coupled with the desire to eat. It can also be described as to have a strong desire or craving for something. Have you ever noticed how many references there are in the bible in regard to Jesus and hunger or thirst.

"Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."  John 6:35

 

'Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat." " We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. "Bring them here to me,” he said.  And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.  They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.'  Matthew 14: 16-18

These references serve a purpose, of course. Hunger and thirst are both very real and essential human conditions. Biological life does not exist without the ability to take in both food and water. The human body's complex systems take the essential nutrients and convert them into energy for life. Consequently, spiritual life does not exist without the ability to partake of the spiritual fruits offered by Christ. The bread and water of our spiritual existence are found through our connection to God and our relationship with our Lord.

 

The nectar of fruits satisfy both hunger and thirst just as the fruits of the spirit satisfy in ways nothing else can.

 

Have you ever been hungry and no matter what you ate, you still felt hungry until you happened on whatever your body was craving and your hunger disappeared? Such is spiritual hunger. We often try to fill the emptiness inside us with a variety of people, activities, and sometimes "vices". What a foolish search we depart on.

 

 

As long as your spiritual plate is empty you will feel a need to consume huge amounts of other things, searching to fill a void that nothing else can fill. When you partake of the "bread of life" you will never be hungry. In seeking God in everyday life, in allowing your soul free rein to connect on a spiritual level with our creator you unleash a never ending flow of  spiritual delights. Like a spiritual buffet that is constantly filled with fruits of the spirit.

 

Hugs to each and every one of you. May your life overflow with God's blessings and may a multitude of things fill your spiritual plate.

 

Foretelling the Coming of Christ

I thought I would start my Investigating Jesus series by looking at some verses written prior to Jesus's birth. Verses that foretold the coming of the Messiah. What is a good investigation without a good mystery and there are many such mysteries in the days (and years)  before and even during Jesus's life.

The book of Isaiah is perhaps the most telling for it's prophesies of the coming of the Messiah, Christ but there are many other notations and forewarnings of the birth and life of Jesus.

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”  Isaiah 7:14

Take this one from Jeremiah which told of the deaths of children killed by Kind Herod in his search for the Christ child.

“A voice is heard in Ramah,
    mourning and great weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children
    and refusing to be comforted,
    because they are no more.”
Jeremiah 31:15

And the prophecy becomes real:

"When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi."  Matthew 2:16

And the Easter story foretold in Isaiah 53:5

 

These are just a few examples of prophesies that mentioned Christ far before his birth.  What exactly does this tell us about the nature of Christ and his place in our lives?  I'd like to propose that this foreshadowing plays a role that is similar to foreshadowing in a good novel. I do not suggest that it is a literary tool but rather an integral part of Jesus's story.

 

Foreshadowing adds dramatic tension to a story by building anticipation about what might happen next. It conveys information that helps readers understand what comes later. When the text foreshadows something, the reader feels prepared for the events when they happen.

 

Dramatic tension about what might come next:

Why would anyone want to add dramatic tension? To get people's attention, to make them understand the critical nature of the events that would unfold. There is an urgency here. Christ is to redeem all of humankind. To remove sin and give eternal life. That my friends is pretty dramatic.

 

Conveys information that will help readers understand what comes later:

Christ does a lot of things that go against the grain of society during his time. They are, one might say, even a bit outlandish. For people to hear the message that is truly contained in Jesus's lessons there needs to be a foundation. Something that comes prior that gives him authority and holds together the fabric of his life. Perhaps even serve as a reassurance that this person, this man, is extraordinary.   

 

The reader feels prepared for the events when they happen:

While nothing could totally prepare people for Christ I think of it as similar to "activating prior knowledge" where we draw on past experiences and our knowledge to make connections to current circumstances. To make sense of the world around them, the people in Jesus's time had to rely on what they had at their disposal..... the prophesies.

 

But perhaps by far the most important thing to remember is best summed up by this.....

 

 

I'm going to be honest with you...I have no idea where I am going with this series. I'm not a biblical scholar, I can only make the connections that come to me through my musings, readings and discussions with others. Investigating Jesus is my own personal search into the life of our Lord. Sometimes I will miss the mark and ramble endlessly down ancient paths but perhaps with God's direction a few times I might actually discover a gem to hold on to.

 

Hugs and love to each of you. May you seek Christ in your own way and may your paths be easy to travel.

 

Investigating Jesus

 

I found this image online and it caused me to start musing about a series (or at least a label) here at Soul Musings called Investigating Jesus.  I like it, it's catchy and it plays on the idea of learning as much as possible about the person that God sent to earth to redeem mankind.

 

I've already written a couple of posts about Jesus and my thoughts about the nature of him and his teachings. Would You Recognize Jesus talks about finding Jesus here on earth in other people and letting others "see" him in us. Erasing the Lines talks about Jesus being a line crosser, Going against the earthly lines that are often drawn by humans.

 

 I'm not exactly sure what direction this will head, such is the nature of soul musings. The idea is there brewing in my mind and I am sure when the time is right God will give me a nudge in the right direction and I will have the ideas I need for my Investigating Jesus series. Interesting that it should come to me so close to Easter. I can't wait to see what I will find in my "investigation".

 

 

Hugs to all of you. I would love to hear any ideas for "investigating" that I might explore. A certain bible verse or story of Jesus that you think I might enjoy reflecting on would be most welcome.

 

Erasing the Lines

So today's sermon was quite thought provoking as usual. It created a buzz of thoughts in my head which I'm yet to sort out so I will start with the basics.

Definition of crossing the line:

1. to change from being acceptable to being unacceptable
2. to do something wrong

While one should think long and hard about crossing the line in legal, ethical, and moral situations, the crux of the sermon was the societal lines we create that are superficial in creation and application. These imaginary lines that keep us from interacting with others and "becoming" the person God wants us to be.

Jesus was a line crosser in lots of incidents because the lines were meaningless in the overall scheme of God's creation. In God's plan for the world there are no divisions.

When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)    John 4 7-10

"At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them."  (Breaking the Sabbath)  Matthew 12:1

"At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them.  The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group  and said to Jesus,

“Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.  In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. ⁷ When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” ⁸ Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.  Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

“No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” John 8 1-30

I share with you the above examples not as a biblical scholar but simply as examples of times where Jesus looked beyond the "lines" and saw to the heart of the matter. It came to me as I was reading the verses about the adulterous woman that it would have been poetic if what Jesus was drawing in the dirt was a line.

The truth is we use lines to "define" our world. To help us categorize and line things up neatly. Yet in our human existence things rarely line up neatly. The person one thinks is religious and devote may end up being a person who has committed horrible crimes. While the homeless person with dirt beneath his nails may give his life to save another. God knows that lines are only on the surface. They do not dive into the heart of the matter. They do not define or touch people's souls. The are human constraints that often prevent us from deepening our relationship with God. In an earlier post I wrote about "would you recognize Jesus" . Would you?  What if he's behind one of those rigid lines that you refuse to erase?  In that case you may miss an opportunity to meet him face to face.

Let's be honest. Sometimes erasing that line or crossing it has consequences. You may lose people you think are your friends because you take a stand on something and interact with people they deem as "unacceptable". You may be thought of as "weird" or "out there" (been there, done that) You may risk exposing yourself to less than ideal circumstances. You even run the risk of being somewhat of a social outcast because of your willingness to erase the lines. It can be scary. So start small. Examine the lines you have drawn. I'll give you a bit of a petty example that came to mind for me.

I don't like talking to people or being around people that "toot their own horn" or think they are better than everyone else. We all know people like this. I don't mean sharing something we are proud of, celebrating a "win". I mean constant talk of self and glorifying all aspects of their life.  Seems like an "ok" line right?  In reality perhaps my resistance to erasing that line prevents me from seeing beyond that tendency (self bragging) to the fear, insecurities, and self loathing that may exist inside that person. In addition, it closes the door on them being able to experience someone who is not driven to "self promote".  See where I'm going? If I stay in my box and they in theirs, neither of us has an opportunity for growth.

 

Hugs to all of you. Think about the lines you draw in your life. Can you identify one that perhaps really isn't necessary? One where you can erase it and see what happens? Can you open your spirit and yourself up to people that might be considered "untouchables" like in Jesus's time? Can you see into their humanness and touch the heart of this person God has placed on earth?  In doing so you will find opportunities to grow in your spiritual journey and your soul will sing with joy.

 

Pits, Holes in the Sidewalk, and Cracks

There's plenty of times in life when we might feel like we are in a deep pit, struggling to get out, with no one to help us reach the top. Yet God is always there. The deeper the pit, the sooner he hears our cries. With faith and trust there is no pit deep enough to contain us. To keep us from "becoming" the person we are meant to be. Sometimes we are in the pit from no fault of our own and yet there are times in life when we have put ourselves there. In the darkness alone and lost, we moan our choices and promise to do better. Yet sometimes we find that we end up in the same pit over and over and over again. There is a lesson to be learned and we are being a bit pig headed about it.  I'm reminded of the following.....

“I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost... I am helpless.
It isn't my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again.
I can't believe I am in the same place.
But, it isn't my fault.
It still takes me a long time to get out.

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in. It's a habit.
My eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault. I get out immediately.

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

I walk down another street.”

 

Portia Nelson from There's a Hole in My Sidewalk   

 

I'm reminded of my spiritual quest by the above excerpt. The beginning of the quest is like being lost and helpless. It takes a long time to even start. Along the way there are many sidewalks and many holes. Sometimes falling in isn't my fault. Life's circumstances propel me into the hole but it is still my responsibility on this quest to find a way out. Sometimes the holes become a habit, a way to neglect my spiritual quest and fall idle in the search. Eventually I learn  to walk around the holes and at some point I just walk down another street.

 

 In this quest, I go from feeling powerless and lost to having a real sense of direction and knowing the sidewalks I want to travel. God could reach out at any point and "save me" from the holes I blunder into. Yet what would I learn from this intervention? How would I grow and "become" without the learning that happens in the pits and holes in the sidewalk?

 

 

Instead God lets me blunder along, while giving me the strength to continue. He finds that tiny crack in my soul and He nurtures it and allows beautiful things to grow in me and in my life. On this quest of life and becoming, there is no better companion to walk with.  

 

 

Hugs to all of you. If you find yourself in a pit or falling down that hole in the sidewalk, know you are not alone. Know also that beauty and grace are with you and you can become as the flower in the sidewalk crack, reaching toward the sun, growing in your spiritual quest, nurtured by God's love.

 



 

Stumbling Blocks

 

Have you ever really thought about how often we are "stumbling blocks" for others? Perhaps we let our negativity about some aspect of life tarnish another's joy. Perhaps we "steal joy" from someone when we are critical of how they do something or even "where" they are in life. In earthly ways we judge "success" and sometimes when someone isn't "successful" by earthly measures (money, house, great job) then we count them "out of the race." The real question is, should it be a race at all?  Let's face it....none of it's going with us. What if we looked at success in a different way, one that is more spiritual in nature and doesn't require winners and losers.

 

 

What if we looked at success as how many people we help, inspire, nurture, befriend, uplift, comfort etc.

 

"Jesus said to his disciples: "Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come." Luke 17:1

This reminds me of a sermon today about being "in the pit." I want to save that musing for another day but stumbling blocks (which have been on my mind a lot lately) and pits are quite similar. They are places in life where things aren't where we would like them to be. Things that bring us down, things that cause us to lose our way and stray from the path that God has set before us.

Traveling on the path of life sometimes we get lost, we take detours, we come to dead ends, we run out of gas or we just stop along the way at a crossroads not sure which way to turn. Along the way do we find people that clear the tangled overgrown brambles from our path or do we find people that roll boulders onto the well worn path?  When you run out of gas who do you have to fill your tank? 
Are you a tank filler for others? 

 

Hugs to all of you. May you find people in life to pull the tangled weeds from your path, to fill your tank, and uplift you in the joy of life. There is one that is always there to do so, may you find peace in Him even if others let you down.

 

I'll be back soon with another musing....perhaps the one about the pits or maybe one about the knock on the door, or who knows, maybe I'll go off in some whole other direction. You just never know, I follow where I am led, and allow my musings to be my own personal spiritual quest.

 

Would You Recognize Jesus?

 

 

 

"The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."

Matthew 25:40

 

Would you recognize Jesus? Would you think His appearance too scruffy?  Sometimes we think a lot about "finding God in strange places" or seeing the hand of God in the beauty of the world. How is "recognizing Jesus" different? 

 

To me recognizing Jesus has to do with "becoming". Where God is the supreme being, Jesus is that glory manifested in human form. Jesus is the helper, the worker, the selfless provider.

Often though we fail to recognize Jesus and we miss opportunities to bring Jesus into "being" here on earth. Sometimes it's opportunities like feeding the hungry, talking to a friend in need, offering assistance to someone. Yet I think it is also "sharing" of ourselves in other ways; using a talent, nurturing a family, being present in the lives of others.

 

 

 

"You can find Him in your Momma's eyes, or in your Daddy's face,

                             You can find He's always there to help you win the human race,
                             You can find Him in the mountains, downtown, or by the sea,
                             And brother, here's hoping someone can find him, in you and me."

                                                 Lyrics: Would You Recognize Jesus

Hugs to everyone and I hope you recognize Jesus in the world today. Muse about the ways that you can let someone see Him in you.

 

Unanswered Prayers

I think one of the most difficult things for people of faith are "unanswered prayers". We all know that sometimes we pray (often with a specific outcome in mind) and things do not turn out as we had hoped.  Its hard to accept that sometimes our prayers seem to fall on deaf ears. The truth is that the prayers are heard but because we exist in a humanly plane and God on a heavenly one, we do not always understand the answer we get.

Let's not muse on "unanswered prayers" involving illness and death because those are so traumatic and so personal that I'm not sure any explanation would "work." I've had several profound losses in my life and I'm certain I'll never know the why while here on earth.  I will say that it is only God's strength that has gotten me through some aspects of life.

Instead let's focus on something that has been an ongoing process with me. That is changing the "way" I pray. I'll admit....I think I know "best". So when praying about a bothersome issue I always am tempted to "tell" God what the answer should be, the direction I want things to head, what is needed. Isn't that presumptuous of me? I mean what do I REALLY know with my limited life experiences. How do I know that the "direction" I want something to go won't be a disaster.  I think part of this struggle I have comes from fear or lack of control.

So I am constantly talking to myself, as well as, God during prayers. Reminding myself that the nature of prayer is a conversation with God. He might have something to whisper to me that I will miss with my constant insistence that "I know" what is needed. I've tried to change my wording so I am asking for God's guidance, his support, his comfort, his direction rather than saying "how" I think things should unfold.

This is one of my favorite verses.....

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."   
                                                                                                 Matthew 7:7

Sounds like a fairy tale right? Yet when I change the nature of my prayers it makes perfect sense.

• "Ask and it will be given to you" (support, comfort, guidance, patience)
• "seek and you will find" (seek His presence and His will and you will find it, hear His whispers of reassurance)
• "knock and it will be opened to you." (you will be given insight, spirit, the door will not be shut)

Just tonight as I was saying a short prayer about something I started to drift into listing all the things I thought should happen or were needed. Then I heard a tiny whisper in my mind "patience". It made me pause and realize that I was frantically praying without waiting for God's turn in the conversation.
As I tried to turn in another direction my mind kept obsessively seeking to "provide answers". Again I heard the word: "patience". It was at that point that I decided to write this musing about prayer and unanswered prayers.

For in truth, we do not "know" the answers. When we get knocked down time and time again sometimes it is hard to believe that there is some "gift" in our unanswered prayers. It's hard to believe that there may be a reason, unknown in this world. God's gifts might not be such that we recognize them. Perhaps my gift is "patience" because I sorely lack it. Or perhaps God's whisper was just a reminder that good things come with patience. Simply letting me know that He "heard" me and now it was my turn to "wait.".

Hugs to all of you. May you always find the strength you ask for. May you hear God's whispers and may they guide you everyday.

Finding God in the Strangest Places

I frequently find meaningful tidbits and perspectives outside the traditional Christian teachings. I've explored other religions, practices, theology, and random insights. One time someone questioned the exploration as perhaps "dangerous" in that when we stray from our beliefs we might somehow become entangled in the "other". I've never immersed myself so far in a "practice" or "study" that I felt threatened at all. But then I've never "dabbled" in anything satanic or "dark" either. I stick to the light, the motivational, the teachings that promote the development of self and spirit.

'Test all things; hold fast what is good." 1 Thessalonians 5:21

There are many good spiritual thoughts, ideas, teachings, stories, quotations, and beliefs outside the defined range of Christianity. What I find most interesting is the ones that draw me the most do not negate my beliefs about God but rather uplift, broaden, and deepen them. I spend a lot of time with Native American beliefs because I find them so compelling. The ties to nature and the interconnectedness of all things are in accord with my personal spiritual beliefs.

What is life?
It is the flash of a firefly in the night.
It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime.
It is the little shadow which runs across
the grass and loses itself in the sunset.

Crowfoot, Blackfoot warrior and orator 1830 - 1890

 

Just found that little gem and was drawn to it. It reminded me of something I wrote in my little art journal several months ago.

 

When you think about the miracle of creation,

Think not of the great mountains but

of the tiny dragonfly.

How small and yet perfect in design

Crafted by God's hand

With an eye for detail.

 

 

Life is found in everything. All of the "little" things that pass by us often without notice. The firefly, the buffalo, the shadow....or even my dragonfly. Each a tiny miracle in themselves. God too is found in everything if we but pause to notice and appreciate. It is the weariness of this world that blinds us to the joy of life and also perhaps to God's messages.  As we seek we shall find.

 

"Wise men and women are always learning, always listening for fresh insights." Proverbs 18:15

 

 

As we grow in our spiritual life, as our soul connects with God we can "see" things that we have never even noticed before. We will see meaning in lots of aspects of life that have evaded us before.

At some point we will be the little shadow that runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.  

 

Hugs to you! I hope you will take a bit of time to think of a quotation, a concept, a poem or symbol that "speaks" to you. Reflect on it and see how fits into your life. God gives us insight in "strange" places and through "strange" sources.