Ripples

What kind are you sending out into the world??

It is amazing how satan works....how it all starts with a simple thought and then tumbles into an idea of ourselves and then effects our mood and then our mood effects others and so on.

He needles us with our worst fears, annoyances, doubts, and tries to magnify what we are most self conscious about. He will use any person, situation, fall or stumble to trip us up and send us 3 steps back...He will use rejection, abandonment, and even silence and isolation to torment us.

Learning to combat his attacks takes discipline and spiritual awareness....and just like anything you do consistently, any habit that you create....it will get easier and easier the more you do it until it is like second nature. Hopefully the habits we cultivate are healthy ones! Even better a spiritually healthy habit....

A God inspired habit that you will grow in while practicing.

It is so powerful to realize something for what it really is and face it head on.

For instance, when people are in a bad mood I do not automatically assume it is about me or take there mood personally or let it ruin my time with them anymore...

so yeah, I USED to let people get to me in that way, but now I realize it is not about ME. They are going through something, and it is heavily effected by their own wounds, insecurities and trials that they are going through and have gone through. If I can just apply love and patience, or even just sit in silence with them in the sun and show them support, then great.

Every situation is different, and if we are open to what God would have us do in the moment, His love flowing through us to someone can be incredibly meaningful and powerful in someones life.

We get used to a certain approach to things or become a slave to the way we have ALWAYS done things, but those reactions can be like a really sensitive trigger that is reacting off of an idea we came up with when we were 10 years old , of how to deal with anger, or frustration, or rejection and because it always worked for us then, the familiarity is comforting to us, even though it is no longer effective. It certainly doesn't allow for growth in the area....and that is just fine with satan because he is happy to keep us there.

So it all starts with listening for God's still small voice, being quiet enough to tune into it and understand His best for our lives, our minds, even our bodies. He knows will will resist at times, or get caught up in the "annoying" situation, even wallow there contently in our misery at times. He understands our human condition and He sits there patiently and lovingly smiles at us and when we are done pouting he reaches for our hand and asks "ready to go on?"

It is like a long hike in the mountains, our walk with God, He knows the way is treacherous at times and life threatening in mental and physical ways...some parts of the trek is daunting to us or monotonous and those are the times we don't even care about our destination anymore.

He knows those times will come.

Then there are the times where we come to an opening the trees and we are high up now, and the view is amazing and we feel that no matter what we went through to get here, it was well worth the climb. There is a mix of these two senerios through life, over and over again constantly tweeking us with hard work and then rest and beauty. One is necessary to appreciate the other and the more we understand the big picture, the more we can extract the drama and see past the smoke and mirrors satan tries to use to distract and trip us, the better and better we become at being present and aware and peaceful.

No one wants to hear the climb is necessary for enlightenment and revelation....can't someone else climb for me we say? Or can't I watch it on YouTube and learn from it? We don't want to hurt and be torn and tweaked in order to grow, even if we know there is also great beauty in store and so much reward....we still just focus on the cost of it.

I love the saying about how the journey starts with one step. If you aren't willing to take the first step, then there will never be a journey! As for me, it has been better to have loved and have lost then to never have loved at all. The journey has enabled me to see life in a way that I could have never even focused on before, let alone see clearly.

You cannot tell someone who is going through something painful that they will be thankful later on for it. They can not comprehend what you are saying and you'll just come across as insensitive.

We all have to find our own way in our own time.

If some people hide inside their home and never take a hike until they are 60...God can still work with that. For them, they were not ready until then. In the same respect, what is right for each of us is not the right way for everyone or anyone else. We were made by God to be the only one! Commonalities will overlap and bring us together and make us feel understood but we are original for a reason and He will show us why and how if we let Him.

So be patient with people, grasp the big spiritual picture that we are all on our own journey, all struggling and rejoicing in different ways at different times in our lives. With this patience, understanding and compassion will come great peace, and with that peace you will be able to make ripples with God that will touch the hearts of so many!

~C