Processing Faith

A good frind of mine asked me how I process my faith....   I replied by writing the following...

 I was watching a documentary on the Monarch butterfly and its migration. They winter in Mexico and summer in Canada...  Amazing that such a fragile creature can make it 3500 miles...  What I did not know that I found completely amazing was that it takes up to 5 generations of butterflies to make the journey each way.

 That means that when each butterfly leaves Canada and heads South... It will be the great-great-great grandson that will actually finish the journey. Think about what that means in regards to faith.  Each successive generations completely depends on faith in its instinctual genetic makeup in order to have lived.. and allow each successive generation afterward to live.  Oh that I could have the kind of faith in God.

 When I reflected on the film I found myself thinking about the idea of dying to self.  How each generation of butterfly travels as far as it can and then mates.. and dies... and leaves it to the next generation to further the journey.  I wonder if each version of our self is like a generation of butterfly that must die so that we can be reborn a little more closely in God's image.

 Your question called to mind 3 verses...

 1.)    Now faith is substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

 2.)    The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

 3.)    Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light

 I truly believe that God wants a good full life for each of us.  I believe that Satan intercedes by lying at every opportunity.  He attacks us at our weakest points...  Where pride, or vanity, or selfishness, or fear can be used as a wedge to separate us from God and from each other.  The funny thing is that he promises us that his way.. The way of the lie... (believing

 his lies.. (You're not smart, you're too fat, no one loves you, you are too good for them, or you're not good enough for them.. etc.) is easier.  And it feels easier sometimes... At first.  But it always ends up being harder and heavier, and marked by distrust, shame, anxiety, and fear.  It ends up separating us from each other, from love, and from God.  Eve wanted to be a

 God.  It wasn't enough to be happy in the Garden.  The lie.

 How do I process faith...  I think I am learning not to process it at all. I am learning to just have it and act on it.  To act in and out of faith. We can get as cerebral about it as we want to...  I think that itself is trap dressed up in lies of.. you're not smart enough.. or you can think your way through this..  But still a trap all the same.  I believe that you can easily spot those who have strong faith..  "You will know them by their

 love..."  Love of themselves and love of others.  (They will lack anxiety, worry, pretentiousness, anger, and vanity and have humility, kindness, honesty, and dress and act demurely)

 I am trying to fully adopt Nike's slogan when it comes to processing my Faith.

 Just Do It.

The pain of self deception.

I have a friend who was dating a guy.  The unspoken terms of the relationship where that is it was casual and there was no commitment.  My friend, lets call her Samantha, struggles with her self image as most women do. She is beautiful.  A real looker.  Like all women who become sexually intertwined her heart went into this relationship.  And she was hurt when the relationship suddenly ended.   This fellow still reached out from time to time when he came back into town and Samantha was torn between the closeness and intimacy of being with this man on those terms and the emptiness she knew would follow.

What a horrible feeling to be approaching and or passing through maturity as a woman and have the thing that you have most used to define yourself and draw your self teem from, your body, begin to degrade as it does with all people in age.  To stake your worth on a diminishing asset.  And have an endless parade of 20 or 30 something women coming behind you who are younger and dumber and following the same broken path you did.  To know that men of this type will invariably not buy the cow when they can get the milk for free...  and that there is an endless supply of dumb cows.

So after nearly a two year break from this fellow, and some self realization in Samantha that she doesn't want to stake here worth solely on the sex she can provide she decides she is going to abstain from sex until she gets married.  A healthy decision by any rational account.  Yes I am judging.

This man re approaches her and they go out on another date and he makes it clear he wants to sleep with her.  And she makes it clear her position has changed.  They discuss and appreciate each others different view points and go there separate ways.   So far so good.

In my conversations with Samantha about this guy it continues to come out that he is a, "nice guy."  A good guy.  That he would be a good person to have a friendship with.    There is a complete abdication on her part of her responsibility to call what they had what is was.   A f*** buddy arrangement.   She justifies his not calling back by saying he has a lot of other friends.  And ignores that he will not call her "friend"  unless they continue their relationship solely based on her choice to debase herself and devalue herself.  I don't know if that stems from an inability on her part to extend grace to herself for her former lack of wisdom or her inability to call him what he was and is.  And what he will continue to do to other women.

Can you truly experience and appreciate light if your are not willing to call dark dark?   The answer as always is in ourselves.   God loves us for who we are.  He made us and there is nothing we can do or say or think that surprises him.  Can we become and have what we are meant to become and have until we fully accept our own brokenness and extend grace to ourselves?   Is it necessary to take a stand and call bad bad in order to be able to accept and appreciate good?

Finding a good foundation to build on is of the utmost importance.  So is taking a stand on that foundation.

Truth and priorities...

I have a wonderful, beautiful, single, smart, caring friend who is in the health care profession.    She owns her own successful business.  Like all of us she is imperfect.  A huge surprise to no one.  Least of all me when I look in the mirror.  She recently invited me to a fund raiser she was hosting at her place of business.   The title of the event was "Santa Paws."    Kinda cute given the season as long as you forget the reason.  LOL.

The invitation read ".... is inviting you to a Holiday “Pawty” benefitting rescue dogs. "   

I love my friend and it has been my pleasure to walk with her through life.  She is hoping for a good long term relationship with a man but keeps getting "sidetracked" by losers.

I sent her a check for fifty bucks and left the  "To" line blank.   I also sent her two pictures in the envelope.

One of a starving child.

and one of a starving dog.

I asked if by feeding a starving dog was she taking food out of starving child's mouth.  It will be interesting to see who/what she makes the check out to.   I love her compassion.  I can't help but wonder if what I judge to be her misplaced priorities in this matter are part of her inability to separate the "loser" guys she dates from the "good" ones.