I've been spending a lot of time in prayer and learning the Bible. It brings me so much peace. We are in some very strange times and when you step back they echo much that is in the Bible, maybe not identical, yet the same none the less. An example is the "food shortages", I do not believe for one moment this is any more real than any of the other shortages. It is not natural. It's man made, it's designed to control.
If I spend too much time in the world, I feel anxiety and stress. When I stop and refuse to listen to all of the external voices I can focus on those small inner voices. The ones that have never lied to me, that have never led me in the wrong direction. I know that is the voice I need to zero in on. It doesn't matter if I am in prayer or meditation, what matters is that I hear the voice that is gently guiding me.
So many are struggling in these days. The external noise is loud. Its confusing and unsettling. I feel in my soul it has been designed that way. One of the pastor's I listen to regularly always says that she was brought up to always be aware of the 3 d's - deceive, distract and destroy as those are the tools of Satan and his followers.
That simple statement really resonates with me. It is what I see all around me. Everywhere you look it feels like we are being lied to, how many times does a lie have to be repeated for it to be accepted as the truth? How much of our news, media, entertainment is strictly to distract us? Anyone else find it odd that just as scandal regarding politicians and classified documents starts to come to light Antifa starts to raise it's head again, oh yeah and the immediately afterwards the body cams of a of former speaker of the house's husband get released? All in less than a week? Talk about distractions...
Destroy, well that one definitely doesn't need to be highlighted at all now does it? Given that we have been living in times of destruction for several years now. Everywhere one turns there is an example of physical, mental, financial or emotional destruction.
Yet as I bow my head, as I listen to the word, I feel peace. I know that I am not truly a part of that world and I am good with it.
I've never felt I belong in this world. I've always felt like an outsider. As if the person I am has been inserted in the wrong time or place. I've had moments of fear, frustration and sadness as I have tried to fit in. The older I have grown the more comfortable I have become in not fitting in. I don't want to. Even more so in the last few years. I've watch sadly on the sidelines as so much deception, distraction and destruction has happened. I feel deeply in my heart for those that are willing to look at what they can clearly see with their own eyes and still not see it for what it is. I can't change it. I can only pray.
People are changing, the anger and callousness towards one another is growing. Just when it feels hopeless a good thing happens, anyone see the story of the beloved pet sent to a shelter because the family couldn't take care of it? The shelter not only reunited them, but is helping them. We all have the ability to do that. To step into the void and provide assistance.
Sadly, there are many that are still focusing on the division that has been created and not on the solution. I read a tweet the other day from a prominent influencer, questioning why the unvaxed didn't share with those that got vaxed why they were not participating. At first I was so disheartened, why blame those that stood strong in the face of too many unknowns? Upon processing a bit further, it felt more like that was part of the process of healing. Grief, disbelief, anger... those are the first few steps... there are still three more to go.
Our entire world is going through those five steps: grief, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance in the face of so many things. We are all at different levels of the process. I find myself bouncing in a few areas at different times regarding much of what the past few years have presented to us.
Today, I find myself very firmly in a state of hope, praise and celebration of the good that is to come. I am choosing to see with my heart and not with my eyes. This world is full of joyous news and events. There are miracles happening every single day. We just have to be strong enough to see with our hearts, I know I've mentioned a mustard seed in the past, and not with our eyes and ears.
I'm trying very hard to stay clear of those three D's. I'm trying to focus on the good that surrounds me, the good I can do in this unkind stage of our world, and lifting all of us in prayer.
Well, my wonderful music has ended, my coffee is cold and my fire is smoldering embers... I guess it's time to get going. I have chores that need tending to and tasks that I am setting for myself that need attention. While I know that everything is well in hand, I also know that I am part of the solution and cannot sit on the sidelines.
love and prayers...
ps... watch out for those 3 D's... far more dangerous than we believe...
Good one 381+
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