Greetings Dear Reader,
I visited a glen that I have not seen in twenty years. I went there to pray for a friend. The change in it was drastic but it was still
open enough to see the sky. It is still
winter and the ground is damp from perpetual rain. Come Spring the ground will be filled with
wild daffodils.
The trees surrounding the place are taller. An old ash tree has fallen or been felled by the wind. The place seems still undiscovered by other
humans. There is one spot where a large
animal, likely a deer, takes rest often.
I spent my time in the glen I call Daffodils praying under the sunny
sky, thankful that it was still here and relatively undisturbed.
On the drive back, I was pondering the changes. I spent my time thinking that I was thankful
that none of the many changes had transformed the place into something different
from my very fond memories. There were
many firsts and lasts in this place long ago.
Then it occurred to me that the thing in that glen that was the most
changed was me.
When I grew to love that place, I was making bad choices
based on changes beyond my control. I was
allowing the changes to change me in ways that were not healthy and deviated
from the path I am supposed to walk if I hope to follow Christ well. My faith was intact but my following became poor
due to my failure to control how the changes transformed me.
My crisis back then arose out of the mounting pain of events
that had piled up on my mind and spirit.
My failure was that in the midst of all the changes coming at me, I did
not control how those things altered me.
I allowed my heart and mind to follow the path that seemed most comforting
to me instead of choosing the narrow path that would be the most beneficial.
Things that we cannot control happen and they change us,
Dear Reader. What we can control is how
they change us. What we can choose is
our response to the changes. When pain and
loss assail us, we can still follow in faith.
We can choose to stay on that narrow path that is love for all
others.
I am privileged to see a friend who is in the midst of a
storm of change handling those changes by following Christ at a closer
pace. Choosing how the changes have
impact and change him/her make all the difference. This is the nexus in which we must live if we
are to follow faithfully. This is where I
am choosing to be and must remain.
When Job lost almost everything in a day, he chose that the
changes would change him into a man of deep faith and more devout love for the
Father. Please, Dear Reader, let us
encourage each other into the same narrow choice as we are changed into that
which we must become. I am resolved to
do this and treasure your company as we continue the journey home
together. What do you say?
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:
#aramisthorn
Bookings: aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com
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