SHEsaysWITHaSMILE.blogspot.com

GANGS by (me!) Sandra, tvgp #juryduty

Really, really.. I don't do this very often.. Its just that sometimes its so ripe, so fun..  I don't even think Jesus could resist..

K

So I'm outside the store making everything look pretty when a man comes up to me, and he's like, "I thought that was dirt or something from a distance.. I was gonna come tell you, you have something on your face.. But now I can see.. Is that a tattoo?!  That looks like.. Are you in a gang?"

"I was in a gang," /I said with a smile.. "But then I found God."

Well.. That hit some kind of button with this secular man, so he went on to explain to me how everything that has happened in his life, good or bad, was because he made it happen.

"When something good has happened..its because I (tapping on his chest) made it happen. -my decisions.    And when bad things have happened, it is because I (tapping his chest again) made bad decisions."

This always fascinates me; this thinking.  A list of questions races through my mind, like..  Birth, breathing, heart beating, blood flow, connection to oxygen, energy from the sun, earth rotating.. Brain, mind, consciousness, conscience, FREE WILL..  Did you (tap his chest) make those things happen?!  -the list goes through my mind but does not pass through my lips. Instead what I said was,

"Who do you thank for your life?"

He said (and I've heard the question answered this same way several times by a variety of people): "my mom."

I said, "well.. Who do you thank for your mom's life?"

We all know what's coming, -write.  "Her mom"

I said, "well, how far back do you go?"

He said, "to the chimpanzees.."

Now, you must remember here that I do not have a calling to convert; so, all I did was smile..  And he, just passing by in the first place, walked along..

For me personally, there are a lot of holes, a lot of big gaps in the ape to man narrative..  And I'm well aware, as a former juror in other trials,

You could easily have two "experts" with opposing evidence and arguments; one pro creator of a heaven and earth, the other.. Pro big bang..  And they each could be quite convincing and passionate and all that...

And we know where I've landed:  -when I look at the common denominator for all human beings, of sin and death; good and evil.. When I factor in the fruits of the spirit:

Love, peace, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control

(Makes me want to tap his chest again.. Would you like to take credit for those?")

When I factor in free will.. 

All that human beings have been, are, and have the potential to become..

When I factor in the precision..  Exactly how precise the distance of the earth to the sun.. Everything that needs to be in place in order for all life + human life to exist in the first place..

When I consider our size; human beings physical size relative to the galaxies; universe..

When I consider the obvious and purposeful  distribution of gifts and limits, strengths and weaknesses among human beings..

I could go on and on..   But even if I ignore all that..

And factor in only how prayer, and my relationship with God, through Jesus, has so profoundly, deeply, permanently, -made a new creature out of me..

My own experiences with great suffering and then knowing a "peace that surpasses human understanding"

There is not one cell in my body that equates all that (and so much more I'm not even mentioning) with particles that manifested out of nowhere into space that manifested from where? And happen to collide at the exact speed necessary to ultimately form an organized, interconnected world with such an abundance of creative life..

There is a creator of heaven and earth.  And how anyone cannot be in grand awe? Of things like love, suffering, compassion, sacrifice, beauty..

I have too many personal experiences to list here.. But will close with this:  Gods thoughts are higher than our thoughts. -of this I am quite sure..

And will always be struck by one of my prayerful walks.. In which I was allowed a new way to understand the un-understandable omnipresence of God,

And in prayer, it felt as if I were invited Into this conversation:

Not verbatim, but something like this:

I am sandra.  I am a sister. I am a daughter. I am female. I am creative. I am a neighbor. I am an employee. I am a student. I am a writer. I am a mom. ....   Long list. All things equally true.

Then God says: I am God. I am life. I am love. I am you. I am that tree. I am all things. I am the beginning. I am the end. I am the creator of heaven and earth...   All things equally true.

I think omnipresence, and infinity, and untangible/unmeasurable spiritual things are outside of human comprehension..

God is everywhere. We can say it.. Imagine.. Try to grasp..

God is love.   -we can't see or measure love the way we can see and measure the sun...

But life without love? 

... So I enjoy posing that question..  "Who do you thank for your life on this earth?"

I thank God.    In Jesus name.  -amen.

posted by SHE @ 10:07 AM