If I Stand...

Howdy Pilgrims,

Today, while studying the vast display of humidifiers at Meijer, I stumbled upon a 2011 wall calendar called “Paths to God”.  I bought it on a whim, and was relieved to find when I got home that the calendar was in fact about THE path to God, and not ALL paths to God, as I had begun to worry while driving home.  Like a good Baptist girl, I was surprisingly pleased to find that the calendar was not entirely filled with warm-fuzzies.  The year begins with a photo of an endless row of frost-covered trees, and displays the verse 1 Peter 2:21 “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.”  I realize that that verse comes from a passage about submitting to masters, but when you pull that verse out and place it in a frozen landscape, it calls you to follow down the path of suffering that Christ walked first.  This does not mean to be lead to certain doom, but to step in the footsteps that Christ left us in the snow as an example of how to cross, endure, and spiritually survive the terrain that causes us to suffer.  It is surprisingly comforting to start the year by thinking of the example that I have been given to follow.  I wonder how many other people out there will spend their January staring at the same scene ;)

~Andrea  

Edition:  1 hour status-post hovering over my new humidifier for an hour and a half I am able to breathe deeply without coughing or wheezing.  Mission Accomplished. 

brittanydiane:

Seriously. A few messaged me and informed that that is why they unfollowed me.

…Goodness.

Well, I still love you all, and if you think I’m wrong about stuff I post on here, I think you should talk to me about it instead of just getting upset and unfollowing me.

The end =]

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Hey Sweetie,

Scripture will always anger the people who only know and/or want to accept half the story.  The entire new testament is about suffering for Christ.  Christ tells his disciples that they WILL and MUST suffer his same fate.  I’m sure you know that Paul expounded upon this topic in pretty much all the books he wrote.  I wish I could point to specific verses, but you kind of have to take the entire new testament in one big bite in order to understand the concept fully.  Paul did say that we should get to a point where we greet our struggles with joy, because each struggle is an opportunity to glorify God.  That joy isn’t like “yay, bleeding and being stoned to almost-death so much fun!  lets do it again!” though.  It is still fully suffering.  

My pastor describes “spiritual milk” vs. “spiritual meat”.  ”Spiritual milk” is the warm fuzzy stuff that you get when you only skim the surface of the Bible.  It’s the stuff about always being happy.  It is good, and everyone needs it, but it will not sustain a person through the real trials.  The simple phrase “God is good” will crumble the moment a person encounters a situation in which they can not obviously see the “good” that God is doing.  ”Spiritual meat” is the stuff about suffering.  It’s the stuff about taking on the strength of the Holy Spirit in order to endure.  It’s about learning through trials and letting your suffering shape you into who God wants you to be.  It’s about understanding that the big picture is so much bigger than us, and that in all situations, no matter how awful, giving God glory is the main objective for all our actions.  The “Spiritual meat” is what allows people I know to maintain joy as they die of cancer.  It is what allows people to always believe that “God is good.”  

I thank the LORD that you know this, and that you do not easily crumble under the weight that your critics place upon you.  

~Andrea

(Source: kawaii--cupcakes)

I’m trucking along through Ezekiel right now, and was totally blown away by chapter 17…especially the ending.  

“Thus saith the Lord God; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon a high mountain and eminent:  In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it:  and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar:  and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell.  And all the trees of the field shall know that I the Lord have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish:  I the Lord have spoken and have done it.”  ~Ezekiel 17:  22-24

What a perfectly accurate and perfectly beautiful description of Christ.  It is so sad to me that so many people didn’t recognize the man when he was finally given to them.  Upon reading this passage a second time, I notice the final “I the Lord have spoken and have done it.”  There God goes again being all “outside of time” and stuff.  For the people he was writing to, Christ was to come far into the future, but for God, it had already been done.  So amazing.  Ya know, there are some darn good stories in this Bible here.   

Hi.  

I have the same problem/gift.  I think I was in middle school when I realized that not everyone has a deep  automatic understanding of the emotions of the people around them.  I think I was in high school when I realized that the depth of my intuition seems to actually be quite rare.  I’m not bragging when I say that.  It’s not a skill I developed on my own.  I do not at all take credit for it.  It was a skill given to me by God, and I fully understand that it is for His use.  He gave it to me because he wants to accomplish His work through it.    

It used to break my heart—sometimes it still does.  I used to consider the gift a curse.  I used to try to harness the skill on my own.  I guess I thought I was that guy from “The Green Mile” or something.  I’d suck in all the bad and try to contain it in myself.  I thought it didn’t matter as long as I was somehow able to help the person the pain came from.  Eventually I learned how to give the pain up to God.  Now I can pretty much just be the tool without self-destructing.  

I am very very soon going to officially be a licensed physician assistant.  I use my skill of empathy to help me recognize the full scope of my patients’ ailments, and to recognize which problems I can actually help them with.  I am very observant about facial expressions, body language, and vocal patterns.  I can often times pick up on issues that my attending physicians do not notice.  I am now becoming very grateful for this extra skill that makes my job much easier…Well, it’s definitely not easer, actually.  It becomes much bigger and much more complex.  I guess my skill just makes my job more…complete?  Accomplished.  

So my point is, your ability to feel other peoples’ pain is a gift, even if it feels like a curse.  It can become a wonderful strength.  You can use it to accomplish works for God.  You just have to learn how to give that pain over to Him.  I have a strong feeling you’ll get the hang of it ; )  I’m excited to meet someone else that shares my gift, and I will look forward to hearing about how it enriches your life, so keep sharing :)  

Your sister in Christ,

Andrea

living4himalone:

God, why have you created me to be one that empathizes with other people?  That feels their hurt when they hurt? WHY?