Like You

Let me take this second to introduce myself,
I am a human like you, no more no less,
I'm here to help clarify some misconceptions,
and bring back all Honor and Glory in His Direction.
See Life, this one we have, was designed with perfection,
but the One who designed it gaves us freedom of selection:
To choose what we choose and live how we may,
knowing that His Vicotry is without condemnation.
See, I can readily speak with no hesitation,
words flowing, thoughts in easy cirulation,
but the reason behing this is Capital-T Truth         for the Nations.
See, with Him, there is no End, just Eternal Salvation.
But that freedom of choice is what allowed us to bring in Sin and evil,
We exposed our own nakedness back in the Garden of Eden:
Shame and pin befell
Our own disobedience led us straight to Hell,
but uh, I don't know if you've heard:
There is hope. And it lies in the Word.
Peace of mind, free from all binds,
not caught in the sands of time,
we are liberated in divine grace,
So, Redirect your attention and come to face these lines from Scripture:
With Him , in Him, and Of him, be more like Him,
continue no sin, show Him that you Love Him.
For the Love of money and greed has got you deceived,
So, Love your Neighbor and your Enemies.
If we really believe or our eyes are beginning to see,
then the latter is the reality we need to perceive.

I've come to realize that nothing is more important than Him.
That this life I hold in my hands was once drowning in Sin,
But because He came, Died, Resurrected, and will come Again,
My life belongs in His hands, His Viictory: My Win.
And It's a shame some don't know his Name and everything he's done,
He's healed the blind and the lame, and He died to make you His Son.
But pfft, what Do I know? I'm just a Human Like you.
But wait, ! He saved my life, and that is some pretty good news...

Facing Death with Grace

Have you ever looked out your window and noticed all the lives around you? Have you ever thought about the fact that we may not all be here tomorrow? A young boy of seventeen has had to face that fact sooner than he should have, at least in my perspective. His mother passed away from cancer of the breast, liver, and brain. His mother was 42 years old, with plenty of deserved life left to her, and yet, the cancer got the best of her.

His mother was a very religious woman. She loved God, and everything to do with God, more than anyone I have ever met. She was also one of the sweetest women I have ever met. This woman was dedicated to her faith and was dedicated to showing and living that faith with her only son and her beloved husband. It pains my heart knowing that this young boy, a senior in high school, will not have his mother physically present for his graduations, for his wedding, and for the birth of his first child.

So, where is God in all of this? Where is the Almighty Savior that said, “You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it” (John 14:14)? I have prayed that his mother may not undergo physical suffering, but there was the excruciating chemotherapy. I know that her son and her husband have prayed more than I have, praying for her to stay on earth with them. I know that the young boy was living with never-ending hope that she would make it through. And yet, when his father sat him down and told him that his mother would undoubtedly pass away, the young boy was so broken by the news that he cried and cried. I know that they are going through probably the most difficult time of their lives. And I know that there is nothing I can do or say to ease their suffering.

But God, he who creates and ends all things, can. Jesus says “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house there are many rooms… I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you may also be where I am” (John 14:1-4).

In Jesus, there is eternal support and love—both for those that have passed and for those that will someday be with Him in the Kingdom of God. The young boy knows deep in his heart that he will get through this and that he can get through this with God at his side. For when we undergo our darkest hours, we may feel as if we are walking alone in the world, yet the truth is that it is God who carries us through to the light.

*Image provided by: http://alijohnson.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/grace_candle_logo2.jpg

Able Hands

December 31, 2009

Time consumes the soul, and sheds the unwanted light of the inevitable. Death is on its way, knocking at the cavity that is the body, trespassing, as the body refuses to answer. Time and Death are entities that control, even though we try to fight back with every last drop of blood for at least one bit of control; yet nothing… we cannot win. Time and Death outweigh our bodies as they lay against the threshold of the universe.

Certain things cannot change and will not change, regardless of how much one does. I have grown into my self, learned to abstain from certain things and learned to want to embrace certain things. I have become my own person, different from even a person with a seemingly similar countenance. However, as I have grown and changed and matured, it is always a welcoming sigh of relief when I literally visit the past, to places that will always remain the same.

I recently had to have a dentist appointment (even though I have been avoiding them for the last three years, and I now know never to avoid them again for then imminent doom looms in the near future of my teeth). As soon as I rang the doorbell, the ring rang through my being, memories surging, of pain and comfort and trust and hate all at once. I trembled. The buzz granted me access to the little room, where a different assistant at the desk helped me sign in. Although I immediately saw a face other than the old lady I expected, the younger assistant was still welcoming and warm and I felt a semi-relief.

I sat down in the same old brown chair, and flipped through the same old magazines, and realized that although I have grown in the three years that I have not been to the dentist, the dentist’s office remained entirely the same. The very same mirror that was shaped like a smile, and the identical outdated television set and the wooden walls and green and gray carpet, all were there. This was my little refuge from the outside, and even though the thought of going through an excruciatingly painful dental procedure was in the midst, I felt safe, knowing that nothing would be different.

Sometimes, alone in my dorm room, I feel a pang against my chest, an arrow of sadness that strikes me at the most unsuspecting moment solely because of the fact that I cannot leave this present and melt entirely into the past. And I mean the good past, not the past that I regret everyday as I wake up and every night as I lay to rest. No, I mean the good past, to the past that will forever remain the same; my childhood, my innocence, my blissful ignorance, my old blankets and socks and teddy bears. I am getting old.

You are getting old.

The Earth is getting old.

What can we all do but wait and see what happens? Or to just act accordingly with our age? There are those rebellious souls that try to outshine their age by jumping from airplanes or riding fast motorcycles, and I am sure those are all exciting experiences and that the adrenaline shoots a high of youth into one’s soul, but to what extent can we go on lying to ourselves? I am still fairly young, but my soul feels as though it has walked this earth ten times too many. I have seen things, and done things, that only the old can tell tales of, and yet it is all nothing in comparison to the beautiful end all believers are destined to meet.

The best thing we can do is take the example of all those truly brave souls, those helpers with heart. I have a friend who is so young and so full of love that all she ever thinks about and talks about is how to help people and to be the change you wish to see in the world. It is a beautiful experience every time we converse, but I must admit, that in seeing her spirit on fire for the good of humankind, I am envious and saddened at the fact that I am not at all like that. She is an honest angel cast down from heaven to light up the lives of any and all people that accept her as a friend. Sure, I try every now and then to spare some change to the man on the train, to give a little warm meal to the woman on the corner, to smile as much as I can to the strange yet innocent hello from the stranger. I try… But to what extent can my attempts grant me access into the beautiful end that all believers are destined to meet? I am able but am I capable? To what extent can I outshine her?

“Don’t compare yourself to others,” is the echo of my mom’s words in my head as I type this essay at the moment. And it is a veritable statement. There is no comfort knowing that I cannot be her, but I can be like her, and better yet, I can be me; I can keep sparing change, I can keep sharing meals, I can keep praying for hope and peace, I can keep wishing and dreaming that things will change, that things can change if we all just try. If I do my part, will you do yours? Time is running out, but things don’t have to keep being the same. We are all capable.