Thoughts on suffering. by (me!) sandra, tvgp
the inspiration for this post. admittedly a repeat.. but worth repeating, is a recent encounter with a young person here in pleasanton who tried to commit suicide.
it is this:
I see a picture of a group of young children in a third world country.
my heart aches for them! aches..
-they have no access to clean drinking water.
/kids in pleasanton have an abundance of clean drinking water.
-some of them literally die from hunger.
/kids in pleasanton have plenty of food; nutritious and otherwise..
-some sleep on concrete or dirt floors
/most kids in pleasanton have shelter and beds...
-there are no schools..
/kids in pleasanton have public education..
-they don't have lots of clothes, entertainment, cell phones, video games, restaurants, downtowns, parks, recreation..
they don't have democracies.. they don't have freedom of religion, ATM's, credit cards, air conditioning, cars, easy transportation, air conditioning, heat, libraries, computers...
such a long incredible list!
and I look at all the material things here.. the conveniences.. the luxuries treated as entitlements..
and I see..
such suffering. Emotional pain. Mental anguish. Insecurities. Dissatisfaction. Isolation. Longing. Hunger for, -not food.
Deep, deep hunger for..
peace of mind. Happiness. Joy.. self esteem..
there is a secular way to view this.. Strength/power of Cultural messages vs. Realities of internal human needs..
but as a Christian.. I tend to see it as the spirit of evil vs. The holy spirit..
and what the spirit of evil is highly successful at accomplishing:
Making people blind to their blessings.. their abundance.. their Intrinsic value as a human being..their masterpiece of a human body with vision, hearing, tasting, smelling, touching,.. the ability to respond to beauty, make friendship connections, contribute mightily to making the world a better place with their unique mix of gifts, talents, strengths and weaknesses..
the evil spirit somehow manages to get people to ignore, block-out, look past and over or become utterly blind to every amazing good thing..about themselves, and others, and the amazing landscape around them..
Gets them to block out soooo much love, beauty, blessings..
and hyper-focus on lack.
from where I stand lack is a big fat lie. The greatest deception..
and the holy spirit.. makes a full time job of showing, reminding, revealing -the truth!
you are a masterpiece! You matter! You are swimming in blessings every single day! You are enormously loved! Your strengths, gifts, talents can and will contribute to the world to help make it a better place. You are a conqueror! You can.. You can! You are amazing.. This life is a GIFT to be experienced and cherished..
I could go on and on..
And will, as time allows..
In Jesus name.. You are loved! Deeply loved and valued; as is. -in progress..
Amen!
posted by SHE @ 8:37 AM
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