Higher Ground

Can we rest here?

Of course.

The ledge is awfully narrow. 

We have plenty of room. How about scooting over a bit?

…..

Well. I’m sitting close, really close to the edge.

Seriously? You’re worried about falling?

Well, if I fall, I won’t be here with you, and it might take a while for me to return. 

Wow. For a minute, I thought you were worried about breaking something.

Ah, that’s better. Now, what did you say? Oh, nonsense. 

It’s a long way up there, but I see another ledge not too far away. I think it is larger than this one.

It is. 

How do you know?

I’ve traveled this way before. There’s a lovely stretch of grass and a spring coming out of the side of the mountain. Last time I was here, my companion hewed a stone bed in the rock.  

Oh. They might not like us messing with their place.

They’re no longer there.

Guess they finished the climb.

No. They didn’t go any farther. 

Oh. 

….

So, are we going farther?

That’s up to you. Do you think you can?

Well…. It is pretty high.

…..

But I so want to get higher. Imagine the view from up there must be amazing. 

You can almost see forever.

Okay, let’s do it. I’m ready.

/*\
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/*****\

Wow! You weren’t kidding. This place is wonderful. The grass is like a carpet. And the water is so crisp and cold. Oh, is that the bed?

Yes.

Doesn’t look comfortable to me.

It wasn’t.

Then why stay? I mean, it’s beautiful, with a magnificent view. And there’s plenty to drink. But…

Yes?

There’s nothing to eat. I suspect…

Yes?

Well, isn’t there more room at the top?

Definitely.

I don’t understand why you’d settle for this when there’s something better waiting up there.

That’s a fair question.

…..

…..

And what’s the answer?

I don’t know, but many have made that decision.

I want to go higher. As high as I can. 

It’s a hard journey.

Harder than it’s already been?

Much. In some places there are no ledges, nothing but handholds. You’ll need to be strong. 

Oh. 

….

I … 

I’ll be with you. I can give you a leg up when you need it or a hand to pull you up. But it is hard. You’ll get tired.

But you’ll be with me. 

Of course. I’ll be bringing lunch.

So, when can we start?

If you’re ready, we can start now. 

Yeah, let’s do that. What's for lunch?

#ConversationsWithHim

Life is So Horribly Painful

 Life is so very painful. No, really, it is horribly painful. Oh, if you’re happy and enjoying things, you don’t notice it. But stop for a minute and think about it. 

From the moment you’re born, you feel the pain that life is going to be. For 9 months, you’re cradled in a warm soft environment that provides for every need. No worries, probably very little actual pain because of Mother's system protecting you. Certainly no grief. 

Then you’re forced through a narrow canal. The bones in your head are constructed so they compress and overlap to allow you to slip through more easily. Yet, you enter the world screaming from that pain and the shock of cold air and the tugging of rubber coated hands and glaring bright lights. Your mother is probably making a similar noise, because giving birth is horribly painful...unless they drug Mama up. 

The first few years you’re coddled but constantly having to beg for food and warmth, and a dry bottom, and shots, and to be held and cuddled. If you get sick, you can’t tell anyone and cry to get the message out, but it takes so much effort you get exhausted. You hurt.

Once you’re on your feet, you stumble and bump every protrusion on your body. You get sick and no one can understand you, so you cry. When you get hurt, you cry. You hurt physically and in your tiny heart. You weep from it. 

Finally, you can make yourself understood! But now they don’t understand you! They won’t let you do things. Sometimes you do them and get hurt and they yell at you, even though you’re sobbing and in pain. You hurt all over, even your brain, because you can’t understand why it has to be so painful. And your heart because they wound you with words.

Teenagers. Ugh. Whoever invented the teen years was just cruel, right? Broken bones, broken hearts, broken egos, broken dreams, broken minds. Everything breaks. And no one understands you! You’re in pain, terrible pain. And no one gets it. They yell more and it hurts more. And you hate everyone and it hurts so terribly you want to die. And sometimes you do.

Adulthood. If you survived this long, it is bound to get better, right? No. Life is horribly painful. 

Now, you’ll deal with broken people. You have miserable jobs or lost jobs. There are bills, lots of bills. There are medical issues. You have wrecked hearts, wrecked dreams, wrecked egos, wrecked minds. Then your car gets wrecked. You get hurt and you weep, but no one understands. You hurt.

Life continues to deal out things that break you. Marriages break. Your children break. Spouses die, children die. Grief slays you for years. Life becomes a horrible nightmare where you’re watching every precious thing put in a hole in the ground. You are not hurting. You’re in agony. 

Life hurts. It hurts so horribly that it is a miracle when we survive it. If we survive it with a smile, it is the greatest miracle of all. 

But we don’t notice all of that. We live in the miraculous. We see the beauty of the screaming baby and forget the raging pain it took to bring it into the world. Mother cradles that tiny bundle and speaks to it. The crying stops, the eyes open, and it stills to listen to the most beautiful sound it will ever hear in its life. Pain is gone, forgotten with that sound. 

With every broken moment, there is a miracle following that erases the memory of pain. We forget the pain, though some pain may linger for many years. It is the miraculous moments that keep us from cracking up. The miraculous mends our hearts, mends our minds, and mends our souls. 

There are times pain is so bad we will always remember it. Death doesn’t just hurt, it leaves an indelible mark. You don’t get over death. But for most of life’s pain, we will never remember what we experienced when it happened. We remember the essence of it, our reactions to it. We can describe how we felt, but we don’t feel it. For grief, this happens in time. It is probably the most devastating pain in existence because you don't get over losing half of yourself.

However, you never forget the miraculous. We never forget the moment we held that baby and heard it cry. In 70 years, it will still bring tears to our eyes, a smile to our face, and joy to our hearts. A miraculous event will temper every painful event we experience in our life. 

We never forget the day we met the person we fell in love with, married, and lost. Never. Yet, when our child marries, we forget the awful teen years and pray for a long and happy life. The kind of life that in that moment, we have lived. Because we forget the horrible pain of life. For a moment.

I have survived on the miraculous because to do otherwise would destroy me. The prophet Jeremiah said, It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore, will I hope in him. Lamentations 3:22-24.

Life starts over every morning. New pains and we may carry the pain of yesterday with us but the miraculous of today is waiting to help us forget the pain of yesterday. It isn’t always evident until it’s over, but when you see it, hang on tightly. It is there. 

Because He is faithful. 

What I Saw at UPS

Did you know UPS has a mail slot in the lobby that says “For delivery to the post office”? It does! I was so shocked and amused. I had a return to drop off there, and the line was long. As with all lines, they’re boring and you tend to read things on the walls. 

A package delivery service will deliver your mail to the post office free, who will then deliver it to whomever you addressed it. You won’t ever know that it went through an extra set of hands before heading to you. Gives you a whole new perception about how the Corona virus got around so well. 

And yes, I used ‘whomever’ correctly. 

I think God is like that sometimes, too. He sends something through someone who delivers it to someone else, and then they send it to us. 

Now, imagine if you will, the Devil doing the same thing. He passes something on to someone. They pass it on to someone else, worse than they are, and that person hands it off to another person. At each stop, it leaves some or picks up a bit of ‘bacteria’ or some corrupting element. Or… well, you’ve got the idea by now. We never know where it was, what they did to it, nor who touched the item. We don’t know what sanitation was like nor what may lurk on the outside. 

Yuck. 

I’m a staunch believer that we can pass spirits around via things, thoughts, and actions. I’ve posted about it here before. Someone just coming into your house will bring many germs and illnesses into your home, so why not spiritual uncleanness or a negative spirit? Can they hand you a flier on the porch and pass on a negative energy? You can get Corona virus by simply breathing the same air. Why do we laugh at the idea of getting spiritually sick from taking something from some standing in our yard? 

I admit it sounds like my good imagination is working overtime. I mean, talking to my neighbor shouldn’t be a problem, should it? 

It depends. 

I took a bath last night. I wash my hands regularly. I wash my clothes. Ah, do they also? I have no idea. So, I don’t think we’ll be hugging or holding hands. Maybe stick to the 6 ft rule?

I also don’t know where they’ve been or what they’ve been doing. I don’t know what habits they have. Do they do Taro cards or fortunetelling? Do they visit inappropriate places? Do they drink or do drugs? They may think all that is all right. I don’t. So, they’re going to have something I don’t want following me home. 

It doesn’t end there. Someone can come into your home with depression and despair. When they leave you might feel down and in a few days you may even be depressed. Believe me, I know this for a fact. 

So what’s my point? 

It isn’t what they do or think that is important. They’re who they are and until they get these things removed from their lives, they’re going to be who they are. 

What is important is who you are and what you do. There is a reason the Bible tells us to put on the whole armor of God. If you read it carefully, you can see it covers you from head to foot. This armor protects us against the wiles of the devil, against principalities, power, rulers of the darkness of this world and spiritual wickedness in high places. Not just head to foot but from the lowest devil to the highest one. God has us covered. 

If. 

Yeah. 

If we’re wearing it. 

If you aren’t, I’d check my closet. 

Ephesians 6:10-18:

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;