Apparition
2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV) For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
I like horror movies.I like scary stories. I like roller-coasters. I like thrills. I like things that make my heart race, within reason. I am naturally scary though. I will run through a haunted house if they let me. I take my safety seriously. I run most things through a filter of reason and evaluate what degree of caution and preparation is necessary. I’m not saying not to take terrorist threats seriously. i’m not saying to ignore warnings and throw caution to the wind. I am saying consider the source. There are a million and one ways to die, and you don’t really get to choose. You can choose to operate out of faith instead of fear.
Ghostbusters!
art
I’ve been binge-watching Hunters on Prime Video. Its a crazy show about Nazis in America and a colorful group of vigilantes who are hunting them. There is one scene when they find themselves in a bank vault with jewels, family heirlooms, and art that was confiscated from the Jews before they were sent to the Death camps. I kept thinking that the only remnants from these countless families were their material possessions. If we found ourselves ushered off to death camps because a foreign regime….what would be left? What paintings and poems and stories would come from our possessions? What would people learn about us from our things? What would our art look like?
“With age, art and life become one. ”
-Georges Braque
Whisper
1 Kings 19:1 (KJV) And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
God speaks in whispers. When we try to ignore the voice in our head, we are ignoring God. He is that small reminder, that unction, that prompts us to move. Listen to the small still voice. Listen to the whisper.
Wake
There is beauty in destruction. There is peace after the storm. There are lessons in the wake of despair. Life has a way of teaching lessons in the valley. Once we get past our own emotions, we can learn and more importantly we can grow. What lessons have you learned after in the wake of tragedy?
Wish
When I was a kid, I used to put change in every fountain and wishing well. Mostly, I wished for siblings. I wanted a bigger family because it was just my mom and I in New Orleans. My uncles and cousins were all in Huntsville and Chicago mostly. God has a sense of humor. On Saturday, I attended my father's funeral. Let's just say that every prayer and wish came true. I met siblings, nephews, nieces, and cousins from far and wide. There were old heads who had heard about his daughter in Atlanta. There were lots of big eyes, side eyes and smiling faces. Mostly smiling faces though. I walked into a room full of strangers and left with more family than I can count. Now, I know wishes come true.
Process
We all process things in our own time and our own way. There are no right or wrong answers. We are hard-wired to feel a certain way about certain things. There are outside factors that affect all areas of our psyche. How were you raised? What is your belief system? Where are you from? What is your social-economic status? All of these factor into how you process information. These things determine not only how you work, but why you work the way you do. When you take the time to do some introspection, you will be amazed at the results. Respect the process.
Purge
verb
rid (someone or something) of an unwanted quality, condition, or feeling.
remove (a group of people considered undesirable) from an organization or place in an abrupt or violent way.
noun
an abrupt or violent removal of a group of people.
People purge in different ways. There is a series of movies dedicated to the notion that to eradicate violent behavior one must be allowed to commit violent acts without consequence for a day. You can fast. You can pray. You can do a cleanse. You can remove yourself from toxic situations and relationships. Purging is necessary to cleanse yourself of both physical and emotional toxins. Do whatever you need to do to get healthy both spiritually and physically. Let go. Purge.