It’s the hardest thing in your life. It not only stops us from moving forward, but it weakens our resolve. Our resolve is what we believe and trust. It is the guiding principal in our lives. I am not saying that all frustration is bad. There are times in our lives when we need it to make a course correction. So, our lives will come into focus more clearly. When I lost my house in the flood of 2016, this was a course correction. That correction took 6 months to happen. I awoke to a new world and direction. All this navigating was directed by God. People don’t believe the God would flood people out to get their attention. Clearly, they haven’t read the bible. There have been wars, floods, famines, captivities and every disaster known to man to get man’s attention. In recent years, since 2000, there have been multiple disasters every year, until and including today. The wise people will turn and face God and ask Him what He wants us to do. For in His forgiveness is life and security for the future. It’s time to turn.
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Snapshots
Since we pulled everything out of my flooded house. We put everything we saved into plastics totes. I have been going through these totes one by one. I have found things that make no sense. But we kept it anyway. One particular tote had pictures. Some of these pictures are over a 100 years old. I have a snapshot of my great, great grandfather and his family. He came to this country in 1855. My family is as diverse as America. They came to America at different times and from different nations. But you know what is strange is that they were all headed in the same direction. They were headed to the same destiny. And the snapshot of their lives are basically the same. They came with their families and worked hard at providing an opportunity for themselves and their families. They spoke different languages but understood each other. Because they believe that coming here was the right decision. Most of them came with no money. All they had was what they could carry. But it didn’t stop them from coming. What are your grandchildren going to see when they look at snapshots of your life? Will your life have value for them? Or will they say how sad their life was. It is all in the believing. People came to this country for freedom to live their lives, raise their children and worship as they pleased. What do you believe?
Patience
Patience or the lack there of has been one of my biggest downfalls. I like most people want instant gratification. My mind is quick and can move at the speed of light. But it has always been getting my body and everyone else to move at that speed. I had to overcome this short fall in my life. Not all things come as quick as I wanted. It became frustrating. Learning how to be patient isn’t fun. It is a royal pain in the rear. But God knew what I needed to overcome. I was part of a small church. The pastor and I are best friends. It was a good experience for me. I thoroughly enjoyed working in that little church. There was a young woman who became part of our congregation. She was from the south and another state. It seems that she took a dislike to me from the beginning. Every time that she came into the church, she would walk up to me and insulted me. I just tried to ignore her, but that didn’t last for long. She wouldn’t stop. This kept up for a good while and I became angry. I wanted to throttle her. One day as I was praying about the situation, I was pointing my finger toward her. God stopped me and said look at your hand. He asked how many fingers were pointing back at me. I said 4. He said to me that the problem wasn’t the young woman. It was me. I was the one who was angry. I went to this person and asking her to forgive me for being angry at her. And guess what, she did and became a real blessing to me. Oh, by the way, she never stopped insulting me.
Dispassionate
How far will you go not to feel heartache? Will you lose your humanity not to feel pain? Did you know that heartache is a physical as well as a spiritual pain? I have seen people do so many thing to avoid the reality of heartache. The most common pursuits are drugs, alcohol and sex. People are dehumanizing themselves thinking they are coping with their problems. It has always been easier to run from a problem than to face it. Of course this creates its own set of problems to deal with. Thus compounding the situation until it crushes the individual. So what do you do? How do you overcome the situation? Being dispassionate is clearly not the road to take. Yes I speak from experience. I have walk these roads before and found nothing but pain on them. I wanted to be free to love and to be loved. So I turned myself around to face the pain. I had help all along the way. I couldn’t have made it unless I had the help. First thing I had to do was to face that I had fallen short and had come to the end of myself. You have heard the expression that confession is good for the soul. This is a confession to you. But the confession that I had to make was to my Father who created me. He has always loved me and wanted me to come home to Him. As He has said in the bible in, 1 John 1:8-9 “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (KJV). This is the road where we will receive the help we need to love again.
History repeats Itself
The most advanced species on this earth is also the weakest one. All my life I have heard the saying, use your mind not your back. When you do, you will make your way in life easier and better and you will be more prosperous. Then tell me why is it that history repeats itself? If we are so smart and understand the universe, that we can’t solve hunger or war? Or solve all the problems that plague man. You know what is strange is that about every 40 to 50 years, the same problems crop up all across the world. It is like people have forgotten everything that has happened before. And it takes a world conflict to solve it all over again. 9/11 happened. That single event mobilized a nation into action. And today 15 years later, it is like it almost didn’t happen. You know what is sad, it that there has been a natural or manmade disaster every year since 9/11. And the only response is that it is caused by Global Warming, 0h well. Now what do we do? How do we change our lives for the better? Or what is it going to cost to change things for the better? In the bible it says this, in James 1:23-24 “For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.” (KJV).
How much are You Loved?
We are social beings. Our lives are made up of the connections to other people. It is always sad to see children that have no parents. Their hearts reach out for any love in their lives. It is a powerful draw to our own hearts. Because it is not only natural but it is a spiritual need. We search all of our lives for that love that touches our hearts in a meaningful way. When we look on a couple that has a strong relationship and we are envious. Because we want that. Do you know why a divorce is so hard on the people going through it? Because it is taking the love that we are always striving for all of our lives and throwing it away. It is tearing our hearts into two pieces. Love is the strongest emotion in our lives. And it causes the greatest pain in our lives. Yet people are out in bars and other places looking for love. What is that country western song, Oh yea, looking for love in all the wrong places? It asked the question, where do you look for love? Is it a place that you will find the love that you are really looking for? Or will you walk away with that empty feeling again. Have you ever cried out in anguish for the pain in your heart? All the time wishing you could have that relationship you have always wanted. It says in the bible in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (KJV). It is the love worth having and keeping.
The Hard Way
You have heard of the saying, winning at craps the hard way. It is the roundabout way to win. I was asking the question today, why do people have to learn the hard way. The answer is as interesting as the question. In your life, what decision or problem solved do you remember the most? It is usually the one that you had more difficulty solving. The one you had to spend more time on than it was worth. Or the one that cost you the most. Which decision or problem solved has the most value to you? It is always the one that cost you the most. Our mind processes everything and prioritizes it according to how difficult it was to obtain. It is a most peculiar human trait. It is also how we relate to other people. Sometimes we don’t even know that we are doing it. It has become such a part of our lives that we do it automatically. It is also how we change our lives. If the cost becomes so great, then we are motivated to change. You would think that doing things the easy way would be the method of choice. But anything that comes easy has no value in our lives. It all comes down to value. What do you value the most in your life? It is an interesting question. The bible talks about this very subject. It says in Luke 7:47 “Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.” (KJV).
Once Upon A Dream
Everybody has heard that song many times. It is the Sleeping Beauty waltz. It talks of childhood hopes and dreams. The dreams we all tried to make a life from. As we grew, our hopes and dreams seem to fade away. We wanted a wonderful life and to live happily ever after. In our childhood, we saw the possibilities of that dream. As we grew up, our dreams were laughed at and scorned by people who had lost their dreams. Those that held on tight to those dreams, saw them come to pass. Some of those dreams were childish, but it was the hope and encouragement of those dreams that drove us to accomplish our goals. It doesn’t make any difference how old you are. If you have a dream, go for it. Hope is where everyone must start with dreams. As each day is new and brings new possibilities, we can with perseverance and hard work accomplish our dreams. I feel sorry for those that have lost their dreams. Their hope has died within. Their life has become hard and unbearable. I didn’t always have this hope. I know about a hard life. The news talks about the rising suicide rate in America. The rising rate is all about the lack of hope. So where do you find this hope? I only found it in one place. It is not about a new job, or car or clothes. It is about knowing Jesus and Him crucified. My hope for life came from God Himself. I had a chance to live a good life that God had promised from the beginning. God put in us as children, the hope that we needed to live this life. And with this renewed hope, I have life a good life. Doing what God asked me to do. All you have to do is ask God and He will answer.
Distress
People are taught through life experiences to put forth a positive front. Although people always are in need in their life, they don’t tell just anyone what is really going on. I found that most people don’t want to hear what’s wrong with you. Because most of the time it is what is wrong with them. And it only reminds them that they need help. So people smile and say everything is fine. And the person goes on with their life while distress creeps in to take hold. And I will tell you a truth, when distress fully takes hold that person is destroyed. It is so simple to listen to someone and let them feel better about themselves. The hard part is how you handle the information. There is always someone whose life is far worse than ours. Being patient is a virtue that everyone needs to learn. And yes it is learned. It is harder to rebuild a life than it is to repair one. Life goes on and we will man up and face it. But what good is mankind if they can’t help each other. Think about what you say to people when they ask how you are next time. Did you let them into your life? Or are you going to live with the distress that is eating away at your heart. Only you can make a difference in this life. Pick your choose. It is a Cajun saying.
Out of Your Own Mouth
I have always found what people say interesting. People will say the most amazing things. And what is funny is that sometimes they don’t even know they said it. I started listening to people to see what they were saying. People talk about most anything. Sometimes they just like to hear their own voice. But if you listen to what is being said you will make the most interesting discoveries. For the longest time my wife had to pry words out of me. I wouldn’t generally talk about anything. One reason was that I didn’t want to share what was happening to me. I am a very private person. You may ask why then am I writing this blog. To tell you the truth, God told me to express myself and what I have learned in my life time in this blog. It took me a while to really begin to say things openly. I will tell you another truth, if you listen to a person talk within 5 minutes, they will tell you their life’s history. You know there is a difference between hearing and listening. Everyone hears, but not everyone listens. You have heard the expression that you are condemned out of your own mouth. You need to try listening to people. You will be amazed at what you hear. When you speak, it isn’t the amount of words that you say. It is what you say that counts. As it says in the bible in Matthew 12:34 “….for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” (KJV).
Joseph1637/Crain Blanchard 