Investigating Truths

Episode 3

 Where does one run to in the desert…what pushed me to run so hard, or what drove me with such force towards my own end, I am no longer even sure of…but I fled blindly into the wastelands.

 Do you remember those old tin can and yarn phones we played with as kids?  No matter how far apart we were from each other, as long as we talked into the can, we could hear what the other was saying.  It may be a strange way of explaining this connection God has with me, but from my beginning, there has always been an invisible string between He and I.  You may scoff, but the only way to prove it is to tell you what I have seen! 

In my blind flight, I wandered into the dead lands where the enemy dwelt!  Everywhere I ran, they sought me hungrily!  Time and again I was ravaged by the wickedness that pursued me ever so steadily, methodically drawing blood in small lethal quantities, eagerly gaining strength from the flesh that was being pulled from my frame.  I found myself at my end, in a pile of bones that must have belonged to many previous victims. 

All it took that night, was a simple tug on the yarn between those two tin cans…not sure if it broke or simply tugged, but it was enough!

 This is how I believe He arrived before me…

As I felt my breath leaving my chest for the end, there came a soft vibration from within the pile of bones I lay on, up from the ground beneath.  All I know is that it grew in intensity until my very blood vibrated with a resonance that I cannot mistake as the thunderous footfalls of my Father at an intense dead run through the desert!  He was coming! 

In my end, I did not have even the strength to open my eyes, but the sounds I heard were overwhelming…Lightening striking the ground and thunderous explosions emitting from the very hand of my Father, were all that I could hear.  The screams of death were in my ears and the smell burning flesh was in my nostrils causing me to open my eyes in alarm, only to witness the Full Level of Gods anger being directed at my enemies.  As the smoke cleared and the sounds died down, I simply let go of my spirit, unable to carry on any longer.  As I felt the darkness consume me, there was something tugging at my mind, something pulling on that string attached to my spirit, I think.   

There came a fragrance, sweeter than any flower I had ever smelled! Wafting gently through the dark, it steadily began soaking into my very fiber…I recognized it from somewhere deep within, as the very breath of God.  Every single place of damage within my spirit became drenched in the warm healing power of His breath!  From that place of complete exhausted surrender, my Father began tending my every wound.  I cannot say how long He stayed there in the wasteland with me, slowly and steadily mending each place that had been damaged.  When I gained strength to stand and walk again, He did not leave me, even then!

 Together, my father and I walked hand in hand back toward the Cities of Souls, and I did not care because I knew He was with me and I need not fear all those souls any longer.  Before I realized it, time had rolled forward and I suddenly found myself standing on a hillside on the outskirts of the city.  When I turned in question to my Father, unsure of our path, He smiled gently and cupped my chin gently in His hands.  He need not even say words out loud, as I could clearly read His thoughts from within my mind. 

Stretching out His arm toward the city caused my eyes to follow where He pointed.  Clearly, I could see a small path weaving all of the way through the city to the mountains of God on the other side.  I could see, if I looked closely, small lights illuminating the path frequently.  It was time for me to walk steadily down that path and through the Cities of Souls, making sure to follow His clearly marked path.  If I held to the path, even when I felt lost or discouraged, the path would get me home, where my Almighty God was preparing a place for me. 

If I needed Him, I need only reach out for Him, smelling the air for His fragrant breath, which kept those lights along the path glowing brightly.  With a love like this, I am now compelled to walk forward into those Cities of Souls, no longer just a wild child, but alas, an imperfectly beautiful Woman of Grace!

“Do not let your hearts be troubled.  Trust in God; trust also in me.  In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.  I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”

John 14:1-4

Insight…

As I am sure you have noticed, I have written several times recently about my attitude of late.  I would like to share with you some things that I discovered during this time, all of which are things that I have never realized about myself.  Let’s just say that even though it was a very painful lesson for me, I think maybe for the first time in my life, I am going to walk on from this mountain, and return to it no more…

I have really been struggling of late, really missing my animals, as I am a non-pet owner for the first time in my 54 years.  Since I am the one always talking about letting go of the Whys, I thought you should know that I still sometimes get caught up in them.  I can sometimes be very demanding with God, and overstep myself, pushing Him for insight that I think I deserve.  It is times like this that God teaches me as only He can!

I gained this insight, sadly, with great cost to another’s feelings!  I guess, in a way, I am sharing this with you so that by writing it down, I can reinforce the lesson gleaned from the damage done, and encourage myself to trust more fully in Gods Timing, not mine!

So, what does this have to do with missing my pets, you ask?  Well, long story short, I discovered that for my entire life, the only way I have ever understood what love felt like, was to receive affection from my pets.  Not people, just animals.  Looking back on my whole life, I realize that somehow, I got all the way here, running off of nothing more than puppy love…not kidding…silly, but totally honest!

I have been struggling terribly of late, feeling so lonely and unloved.  I finally see why…I do not have any understanding whatsoever of how to RECEIVE love from people.  Animals have been my source of emotional strength since I was tiny, masking the real problem.  Believe me, there have been many who have tried to give me love, I just do not know what to do with it, so I continually reject it. Love is given to me and I simply toss it aside, not knowing what it is or what to do with it!

How is this even possible?  I am on a hunt to understand, not look for a why, but to understand where the damage is within me that clouds my judgement, in order for God to heal and restore what was broken.  I finally see that my pets have been surrogates for me all of my life, and I acquired the habit of turning them into lifelines…

So, the insight is this…There is hope for me yet!  God allowed me to lose my crutches so that I might learn to hold His hand for strength, as I learn to accept love for the first time in my entire existence…I know, weird right? 

If you are wondering, I think one day I will surely encounter another little furry soul, but maybe this time I can focus more on what I can give them instead of seeking only what I need from them.  For now, I think it is time that I focus on some emotional renovations and damage recovery.  I have a lot of catching up to do…

Do You Remember…

So, in case anyone was waiting for the rest of the haircut memory…here goes!

Remember my girlfriend saying that I could one day laugh at her…well, if your wondering, I did have the occasion to take her up on her offer to get a laugh at her expense.  Probably about 3 or 4 years later I got an unforgettable call.  My girlfriend declared, “I am calling you first because I said I would, and you get the first chance to laugh before anyone else.” 

You see, from the time of his birth, my girlfriend’s son began receiving Beanie Bear memorabilia from his grandmother as well as other friends and family.  His baby room was covered wall to wall with adorable beanie bears encased perfectly in those little plexiglass cases.  Everyone knows that for a collectible, its value is in its preservation, especially the tags from its beginning.

Well, with the confusing logic, usually employed by children, my friend’s son took it upon himself to take the tags off of all his beanie bears.  He did this, not being concerned at all with the monetary importance of the tag being intact.  After getting all of his bears off of the shelves and out of their cases, he proceeded to get out his preschool scissors and cut off not only all of the tags, but any ear or foot attached to said tag.  I cannot remember exactly how many bears were maimed that day, but I know it was many.  To this day we laugh, together now, about all the crazy things our babies did to us…we wouldn’t have it any other way…

Live Wire…

I absolutely love how such delicate and beautiful flowers can spring up, year after year, out of a gnarled old tree branch…God has created so many delightful things that are lovely, and I am grateful that I can experience them, without ever having to understand Why!

Guess What??

Remember when you were young, and your parents went in to the grocery store, leaving you and your siblings in the car for what seemed like hours? For fun you would point at whoever came out of the store and call out which one of your siblings had to marry that person? Your Welcome..

Attitude? Me??

I needed my walk this morning, more than I care to admit!  I have been struggling, of late, with my attitude…a lot!  How can a chosen woman of God ever have a bad attitude, you ask?  Very easily, just so that you know.  I wrote a piece the other day, in which I mention the fact that I am the founder, leader and main audience member of Overthinkers Anonymous!  Guess what?  Also on my Christian resume, is my professional grade skill as a Feelsorryformyselfer!!

  Yep!  I am especially proficient in self-pity, the blame game, wallowing and good old fashioned poo flinging!  There is nothing I hate more, than when I hear God laughing at my wallowing or poo flinging, as it was meant to get Him to fix things, not entertain Him!  Then, there is nothing I love more, than when He scoops me up into His lap, and calms me…not with harsh recriminations, that I am sure I should receive based on my attitude…but rather, He reminds me of the home He is preparing for me, and He promises me, softly, that He will be right there with me no matter what!  He’s got me!

 Not that you were wondering, but if you were, the reason I walk 6 miles a day, is not for the calorie burn…it’s for the tension burn!  I get out on the trail and I push myself to the point of exhaustion so that I can get my mind to shut up and listen!  I am the animal equivalent of a wolverine in the body of a loud mouth frog!  Let that form a picture in your mind…lol!  During these walks I can go from worship to arguing with God in a hot flash!  That is why God is literally the only one who can fully handle me, because it might be wise to give me a wide berth when I struggle, as I wear my emotions openly and sometimes it aint pretty!

 People, as a whole, get pretty uncomfortable around me on a regular basis, due to my emotional maelstroms.  I get it!  I am a lot!  But apparently, God loves this about me, as he has yet to demand that I shut up!  Point in fact, I think that is why God loves it when I write as much as I want to talk.  Every single one of us has a gift to manage throughout their journey, one that needs to be developed and perfected as much as one can. I believe that every human soul has a unique gift, as well as a weakness. 

Yup! I believe in checks and balances!  God wants each of us to recognize our gift, or what makes us so special, but he tempers it with allowing us a weakness, so as to remind us that, though we think we are so capable, the gifted part of us Only comes from Him!  So long story short, I needed this walk more than I like to admit, because my attitude was affecting my gift, or the way I write, if you were.  God wore me out enough let go of the attitude, and remember the depth of His love for me, and how He has a purpose, even when I cannot see it!

Answers From the Past…

Daily writing prompt
Share a story about the furthest you’ve ever traveled from home.

I found an old post from last spring that I thought rather fitting, if you twist the daily prompt’s meaning just a smidge…

This was one of my ‘Investigating Truths’ episodes, but it seemed fitting, somehow.

For as long as I can remember, I have made sense of myself and this world two realms of thought.  One realm of thought is in the actual and physical sense.  What we see, do, talk about, eat and feel are in the here and now… The second realm of thought is what I think of as my storybook, or cartoon version if you will.  Let’s call this part the “Behind the Scenes of My Truths,” the adventure version. 

What follows is written in storybook version…….

I am wild from the top of my head all the way down to my toes!  It is all that I can seem to remember of myself.  My journeying, or running if I am being truthful, has always found me far out in the desert.  For as long as I can remember, there has been a path worn, from one hidden oasis to another, by my feet.  I have hidden them well, though, so most that wander by are unaware of my presence.  As the years of my life rolled forward, I found that there was One who had been following my footprints, always leaving little packages of love for me.  On one of my journeys along the outskirts of the Cities of Souls, I came to realize that the One whom I had sensed, was in fact my True Father!  It was both joyful and difficult to become aware of Him. 

I stayed…

Before I knew it, time seemed to have sped forward in my journey, by a great many years!  I discovered that I had settled down right inside the walls … building relationships with others, and trying to live and do things the way all of the others thought was right.  My Father showed me the gifts given to me, but instead of being at peace, I became fearful…I believed that I was losing myself, and would simply become a nothing…moving along by habit…so this wild child ran!!!

I fled into the desert with as much speed possible, for my feet had become softened over time.  I tripped many times, stumbling over rocks and debris that had been left on my paths.  Had it really been that long?  I was not sure if the way had become obstructed or if I had simply forgotten my exact path.  Many seasons were spent wandering, clearing out my old and unused paths.  Time rolled on…

Oh, I would come near the outskirts, just close enough to remember what I left behind.  The intensity of my pain and fear, along with the guilt over my failure, drove me away again and again…

My last act of running into the desert, or defiance as I see it, nearly cost me my very life, but that is for another time.  For now, I leave you with this thought…I am still that wild child inside, but my Father has been revealing to me the graceful Phoenix that He is rising up from the ashes of her truth…

You didn’t think I would forget your cookies, did you?

One of Those Days…

You know sometimes there are just those days…you know, the ones where we want to just get back in bed under the covers and try to fall asleep again, hoping that when you wake up things will look better.  It isn’t the weather…in actuality, it’s sunny outside and quite beautiful.  It isn’t that I feel sick…in fact, I went for an amazing walk and didn’t even need a hat. 

There are just those days where I think, Lord, why does every single thing in life have to be so infuriatingly difficult?  I exhaust my brain trying to ascertain if it is I that makes it hard or if it just is…am I just feeling sorry for myself or not, are my expectations of myself and God too unrealistic…wait, was there onions in my dinner last night??  ***Note to self…don’t eat dinner late, and if you do, absolutely NO Onions!!  Trust me, you will regret it in the morning girl…

I think that a lot of times I think too much, and it is maybe just what I ate…lol.  Sometimes, though, maybe it is a good thing to mentally get back into bed for a reset!  We have to realize that there are going to just be days, where nothing makes sense, and its ok!  That is what I think I might be learning, finally!  It is days such as these in which I can put into practice the Faith that I’m always talking about.  It is often the difficult times that teach us where our faith is! 

Everyone knows how much easier it is to be lighthearted and easygoing when things are all perfect, but throw a bit of life in the mix and it’s not so easy.  I have struggled so much in my life with fear verses faith, it is laughable, as I carry on about how big I know God is. 

Whenever I have one of Those days, I came up with a little repeatable pep talk for myself and I thought you might enjoy hearing how I get out of my funk.  Here goes, 

“Welcome Everyone To Overthinkers Anonymous!  My name is Toni and I am an overthinker!”

Hi Toni

“For anyone wishing to join, we meet here every night, usually as soon as you get tired.  Be sure NOT to bring anything to take notes so you can relax…no no…here at overthinkers anonymous, we like to use up as much of your sleep time with absolutely every single thing that you have no control over.  Oh yeah, and also we like to obsess about things we really only think might happen…they probably won’t happen, but we here at overthinkers anonymous strive to ensure that you will worry over them anyway!”

For some reason nobody ever joined my late-night club…lol…Sometimes, I just think tooooooooooo much! 

The reason I share this is not to put myself down, because I am the way that I am, no shame!  But if someone that reads this story is perhaps secretly an overthinker, well, I wanted to say that its ok!  There is not a thing wrong with you!  Sometimes Life is just really tough, but remember that sometimes you just shouldn’t eat onions with dinner…lol… and I pray you and I would show ourselves some grace.

Do You Remember…

What was wrong with this picture?  As I stood in my kitchen talking on the phone with my girlfriend, I kept glancing out the window suspiciously, towards the sound of singing.  My five-year-old sat contentedly on the swing set in the back yard.  Something was not right with what I was seeing, but I could not put my finger on it. 

          You see, it is usually the absence of noise that signals childhood mischief, but I could see her clearly and she was simply swinging…wait a minute, that’s it!  I could see her but not clearly because of the distance between us.  I asked my girlfriend to hold on a second, momentarily placing the phone on the counter.  Leaning out the back door, I called my child over to me.  Hopping off of the swing happily, she skipped toward the house.

 As she drew near, my eyes became riveted to her forehead, where her bangs had once been.  My baby gave herself a reverse mohawk! I saw what looked like a small monk!  She had somehow sheared off all of her forehead hair.  In mortified shock I grabbed the phone up and cried to my friend, “You have to come over and look at my baby girl’s hair”!  As I hung up the phone, I asked my child what she had done.  She looked concerned at my anger and said, pointedly, “My hair was in my eyes, so I got out your sewing scissors and cut it off”!  I was in tears by the time my girlfriend walked in and I turned to her for comfort in my hour of need. 

All I received, though, was her hysterical laughter.  Point in fact, she laughed for a good bit, to my dismay. 

“How can you laugh” I cried!  “It’s not funny”! 

As she tried to contain her laughter, and not very well I might add, my friend said, “I know this seems awful, but her hair will grow back.  Look, kids do things like this.  I am sorry for laughing but I can’t help it!  Its hilarious, really it is!  I am sure you will look back on this and laugh someday.  In fact, you can laugh at anything my kids do to me when it happens.  I will even call you first.”

After my girlfriend left, I had to hunt down all the evidence to be found.  Underneath my own bed, I retrieved my scissors, as well as a massive pile of hair.  There was a lot more contributions of hair than I had anticipated, which was alarming to me.  My thoughts raced to my other children, then to the dogs and cats we shared our house with.  When I asked whose hair this belonged to, she confidently took me to her toy pony.  The poor jumpy horse had received an army style crew cut, and was never the same after that, the poor thing.   

Of course, my girlfriend was right! I did look back and laugh. 

And if you are wondering, I did have the occasion to take her up on that offer.  Several years later I got to laugh at what her child did to her.  That, however, is another story…

Live Wire…

I know I should be irritated by this paint job, but truth be told, I find it rather impressive. I am familiar with a lot of the folk on this route, and a great many are of the younger generation. I myself find it comforting that there are still such budding artists out there. Personally, remembering some of the things I did for entertainment at that age, I think this is less obnoxious. I chose things like dog poop bags on the porch’s of grown ups I took issue with as my form of creativity. I hope nobody ever took pictures of my work…