Greetings Dear Reader,
A year ago, my life changed drastically. Before I get to that, I need you to
understand that I have a very clear position on the mystical aspects of
following Christ. I believe in the supernatural
and that God works miracles daily. I do
not believe they are necessary for me to believe.
I am not the kind of guy who thinks that reasonable
motivations are God lighting up road signs for me to follow. I believe he does wield the neon when he thinks
it necessary but I attempt to make it unnecessary. That leads us to those few times when I have been
impressed upon to do something that I did not understand.
Last Memorial Day weekend was such a time. I had no plans and was early to church that
weekend. Whilst sitting in the lot
preparing my heart and mind for the service, I got an inkling. It was in place in the back of my head where
irritating ideas are born and refuse to die until seen to their end.
That soft stirring voice said, “you should go to Folly Beach
today.” Please understand that my
history with Folly Beach is both beautiful and baleful. I argued and said no. I reasoned that the traffic would be horrid
and that it was a long drive. The voice
said, “You like long drives.” It went on
to add that I was not to worry about the traffic.
Ignoring the voice, I went into the church. During worship the voice said, “it is really
only five hours and you love the smell of the ocean.” I opened my Bible. It opened to Psalm
107. “They that go down to the sea in ships
and do business in great waters; these see the works of the Lord.” I decided to tell that voice that I would
consider it which means the same thing it does when you say it to your
kids. It means no.
After church, I thought about what I would do for lunch. The voice said, “You are going to the beach,
you can get something along the way.” I
half-heartedly gave in. Starting my car,
I compromised, “Let me go back to the house and get some lunch and put on some
different clothes.”
The voice seemed more outside my head this time. It said, “Give no thought for your clothing
or what you will eat. I have that
covered.” I pulled out toward the interstate
and drove to Folly Beach. There was no
traffic and the trip was easy. The temperature
was 104 degrees when I arrived at the beach. The voice said “Go down and park
at the public beach.” I did. After I parked and took a picture of my dash
to record the temperature, the voice, “Get out and go put on your boardies.” Apparently, the voice knew that I always have
a swimsuit in my car. I changed and thought
I would die from the heat. The voice
said, “Go get in the water. It is cool.”
I put my suit on, went down to the water, thinking that I
would melt before I got to it. I stepped
in and felt the power of an outgoing riptide.
I joked with the voice that He did not need to bring me all the way here
to kill me. The voice did not
laugh. Every sad thing in my life
flooded into my mind at that moment. The
abuse, the terror, the failures, and the pain all surged through me threatening
to kill me before the water could cool me at all.
The voice said, “Get under the water.” I took a deep breath through overwhelming
tears. I sank down into the water,
steadying myself against the riptide. I
felt how easy it would have been to let it take me and not feel that pain any
longer. The voice spoke again, “You were
never meant to carry such sorrow. Rise
and leave it here. It is not yours
because I bought it.”
I rose out of the cool water and felt the tears still
streaming down my face. My brain flooded
again but this time it was with the memories of beautiful and good things that
have been in my life. I felt a freedom
that I have not felt since I was nine years old. I felt a lightness that I have never known.
After changing clothes again, I took in the sunset and
dinner at a place that has been on the island for as long as I remember. I prayed and wept with joy on the drive home
and took a couple of days before I shared my experience. The thing of note is that until the Sunday of
Memorial Day weekend 2019, I have had regular nightmares since I was a
boy. I have not had one since that day.
This event is what has confirmed me on the path to love
everyone and in that attempt to be lovingly unoffendable. As I mark a year without nightmares, I cannot
say how deeply it has benefited my heart and mind. I am resigned to living the remainder of my
years finding ways to love others unashamedly and to avoid offenses so that I
can better show that love. I love you
more than I can express, Dear Reader. Now,
when I have happy dreams I long for you to be a part of them. As we journey home together, I hope to help
you find this freedom as well.
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 ͡°)
Every human story is part of the great story that leads
to the Father getting everything back to Good.
Contacts for Aramis
Thorn:
#aramisthorn
Bookings: aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com
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