Neither George Orwell’s “1984” nor Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” imagined the scene we are living at this moment. Their tomes are mild compared the current unprecedented and unforeseen scenario.
This morning, on the walking trail, I saw two ladies approaching. They were obviously together, I assume friends, and were walking one on either side of the path, keeping as from one another as they could. As I got closer, the one on my side hurried ahead of her friend, glancing back to make sure she was maintaining proper distance protocol. My, “Good morning,” nor my presence was acknowledged as I passed them.
A while later, as I walked across the parking lot at Kroger’s, a lady stumbled and went to her knees. I reflexively hurried to her and said, “Are you okay? Can I help you up?” She literally screamed at me. “Get away from me! Don’t touch me!” I was shocked, but complied with her wishes, and walked away.
Is this where we’ve come to? Is this the world we live in? It makes me terribly sad.
It seems, like lemmings, people have been led to the edge of a sea of fear. Some of them will walk into it, never to return, while others will stand at the edge, trembling in fear, yet content in the belief they are doing as they should. At times, some will begin to wander back toward the world they knew before, hoping it will be as it was when they left it. Those remaining at the edge will scream for them to come back to safety; begging them to do as they’ve been told. It’s too soon to go back!
And those who refused to follow and worship with the multitudes who tremble and pray to the alter of fear? They are cursed and accused of bringing danger—even death—upon those who choose to do the “right thing”.
Posts Tagged fear
Love Is All We Need
Songs have always moved me; some in a positive way, others just the opposite. Lines from songs have struck me as genius, some as profound, and some as simple truth. Interestingly, it took years for the truth of those lines to truly mean anything to me, and I too often wish I’d seen the wisdom in the words before I reached this age of… maturity. Yes, I admit, I wish I’d known then what I know now. I should have listened to the music.
And now, as I inch slowly toward the end, and the beginning is so far behind me, I can no longer recall the roads I traveled, I wonder how life would’ve been if I’d lived without fear. We all do it. We scratch and claw our way to what we’re told is success, which translates to security, and then cling to it as if it can keep us safe from all harm, only to realize the light we obeyed for most of our years was the one in the middle; the yellow one. Oh sure, we often ignored and sped through it, telling ourselves if we stopped the guy behind us my plow into us. And so, we lived, caution being another word for fear. Green being just as frightening, and the red one to be avoided at all cost, because slowing down was bad enough, but stopping meant you’d given up all control, allowing something, someone, to take control.
But… what if we’d lived like we were dying? Would the knowledge our time was limited have caused us to throw caution to the wind? Would yellow have been meaningless, and red nothing more than a dare? How fast and how far would we have gone? Maybe not far. But we would have lived like there was no tomorrow. Or… like there was, and it counted. Counted, because it would give us more time to love, which, I’ve realized, perhaps too late, is what living is all about. Love is indeed, all we need.
This… Is How
This… Is How
She told me it was okay
To not be okay
And so
I told her things I’d told no one
She listened
She spoke softly
Saying only good things
With compassion that was real
When the conversation was over
She said she was always there
I could talk to her any time
I hardly know her
So, I asked her why…
Why would she want to talk to me
She said
Because you need someone to talk to
This…
People who care
This… is how God
Can be everywhere
Copyright © C Mashburn 2019
Big Buts!
I’m a positive person, but sometimes my big but gets in the way. I’ll start off thinking it’s going to be a good day, then say, “But! What if it rains?” I let my big but lower my expectations by anticipating something bad.
We mustn’t allow our faith to be diminished by a big but! We must proclaim our trust in God and kick buts out of our vocabulary! God is for us, and there’s no but about it! I could go on, but… I think you get my point.
He didn’t do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. Matthew 13:58
Are We Ready?
After all the time Jesus had spent with the disciples, telling them time and again He would return from the grave, they were still frightened when He appeared before them. And, even after He showed them the scars on His hands and feet, they still didn’t think it was Him. What was wrong with these guys?
Probably the same thing that’s wrong with most of us: short memories. We go through much of our time here on earth—especially in the U.S.—living a relative life of ease, never giving much thought to all our blessings and where they come from.
We hear the good news that Jesus will one day return, and we talk about how we can’t wait for that glorious day, while secretly we hope our faith is strong enough to get us into heaven. Why? Why are we troubled? Why do we have doubts?
He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds.” Luke 24:38
Never Be Dismayed
As time goes on, the world seems to be picking up speed and it seems we’re barreling headlong toward sure destruction. Yes, a fierce battle rages between good and evil throughout this world, but we should never give up the fight for what we know to be right.
Too often, we get so wrapped up in what’s going on around us we forget God is in charge. We find ourselves deep in the battle, fighting and straining against evil, and we begin to feel defeated and beat down. That’s when we need to read a verse, listen to a good word, or simply remember God is with us, and be strengthened.
We must continue to fight the battle and never be dismayed no matter how bad things might appear. God will strengthen us and help us and if the battles we fight are just He will uphold us with His righteous hand.
He Never Let Go
As a young man, I was afraid of nothing and rebelled at everything. I was wild, always testing the rules and boundaries, and actually made the statement, more than once, that I didn’t think I’d live to see my 21st birthday. I lived life like there would be no tomorrow, and for most of my life I was amazed I was still standing.
Photo courtesy of Google Images
Then things changed; I didn’t have one of those lightning bolt experiences, and the fact is I wasn’t even looking for help or seeking to change. It just began, as I quite suddenly realized I’d lived far past my expectations not because I was unafraid, but because I was a part of God’s plan. I learned that even when I wasn’t aware of Him, or His plan, He was still using me.
All those years… years when I thought it was me against the world… He never let go of my hand. I am in awe of God’s love.
When the World Says, “BOO!”
When we have faith in God, we are completely confident He loves us unconditionally and will never stop loving us, we are boldly certain He loves us and will never stop loving us, and we have no doubt He loves us and will never stop loving us.
The thing is, faith is easy to have and maintain when things are going our way, but when things begin to go badly, our faith often begins to slip away. The world jumps out and says, “Boo!” and our first reaction is to scream and tremble.
Much like the disciples in the boat; when the storm began to rage and they were afraid, they turned to Jesus. Their faith was not as strong as it could’ve been, but it was strong enough to know where their rescue was.
We aren’t perfect, but when we encounter the storms of life, we can turn to Jesus with complete confidence, knowing with bold certainty, and without a doubt, He is with us and will see us through the storm.
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