Prologue to Epilogue ~ The Upper Bulb

Greetings Dear Reader,

I used to have so many dreams about the things I wanted to do.  This is not a bad thing.  It is, however, a dangerous thing.  We are prone to plan the future and wish for things to unfold in a certain way.  We plan and build in hope and expectation.  Again, that is not bad.

The difficulty is that we forget how little control we have over the unfolding of the world.  If you are like me, planning has a very dangerous side to it.  Planning turns into control, regiment, and demands.  I lose enjoyment because I do not allow for change in my plans without feelings of loss and frustration.  If one is building a house, one should follow the plan.  If one is following the journey, plans are only suggestions to the one we follow.

We see the future, the sand yet to fall through the pinch, as something promised to us and on which we can build.   The one we follow, however, holds all of time in his hands already.  He knows every moment of every life and has planned his response to every choice we make.  Let that sink in for a moment. 

I have said before, God is a counterpuncher.  He responds to us with what we need because he knows what we will choose.  This is not some puppeteer fate.  It is a Father who knows and loves us responding with what we need to draw us to him.  We resist and reject when peace is found in believing that the Father knows what he is doing.

We fill our moments with expectations of how the future should be unfolding.  We fail to see that “all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose.”   Our problem is that we define future good in ways different from the Father. 

We think the future should unfold in our needs being me the way we think they should be met.  We want our plans to work out as we wish them to work.  We do not see that every turn, every movement is part of the great plan to get all things back to the Father’s definition of good.  He asks us to be children and follow in faith.  We stamp our collective foot and say that we want what we want now.

We place expectations on the future and insist that God unfold things in the way we wish.  We remake God in our image and turn our faith into idolatry to the point that we think we can manipulate God into health and wealth.  We ask God to work out our will instead of following the Son and seeking to love him at every turn as we are commanded.

The future is far more than we allow it to be for us.  We focus on what we expect and want instead of the fellow traveler who came to rescue us.  I must not put too much stock in any future that is temporary.  It is the source of my great failings.  I want and expect instead of loving and being. 

The past and the future have a solitary thing in common Dear Reader.  We are not there.  We cannot live in either of them.  We are not owners of either one.  All that remains, therefore, is the present, the pinch in the hourglass.  For today I must continue to release my expectations of this future.  I must not place expectations on others and plan as if my planning will be what determines the Father’s actions. 

All that is left is the moment.  We will discuss that tomorrow if we get there (yes, I see the irony in this statement).  For now, Dear Reader, let us journey together determined to allow the Father to hold the future and include us in his plans for it.  The IS a lover of life and a player of pawns.

Bungle in the Jungle – Jethro Tull

Walking through forests of palm tree apartments
Scoff at the monkeys who live in their dark tents
Down by the waterhole
Drunk every Friday
Eating their nuts
Saving their raisins for Sunday.
Lions and tigers
Who wait in the shadows
They're fast but they're lazy, and sleep in green meadows

Let's bungle in the jungle
Well, that's all right by me
I'm a tiger when I want love
But I'm a snake if we disagree

Just say a word and the boys will be right there
With claws at your back to send a chill through the night air
Is it so frightening to have me at your shoulder?
Thunder and lightning couldn't be bolder
I'll write on your tombstone, I thank you for dinner
This game that we animals play is a winner

Let's bungle in the jungle
Well, that's all right by me
I'm a tiger when I want love
But I'm a snake if we disagree

The rivers are full of crocodile nasties
And He who made kittens put snakes in the grass
He's a lover of life but a player of pawns
Yes, the King on His sunset lies waiting for dawn
To light up His Jungle as play is resumed
The monkeys seem willing to strike up the tune

Let's bungle in the jungle
Well, that's all right by me
I'm a tiger when I want love
But I'm a snake if we disagree

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a homeowner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Contacts for Aramis Thorn:

Support Page on Patreon: www.patreon.com/aramisthorn

Novels on Amazon             

Web Page:  www.aramisthorn.com

Bookings: aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com

Facebook        Google +    Twitter     

Medium   Instagram  Kids BLOG   

This BLOG:  http://aramisthorn.blogspot.com/