Power Beyond Measure

Woohooo made it through the 30-days of blogging. Now that I'm back into the swing of daily blogging, it is delightful to also be starting a new month of love and good cheer--December. This month, some of my friends have graciously agreed to blog their thoughts and lives about what it is like in ministry, living godly daily, how we can share the love of God through kind acts, and just loving each other. To celebrate all year, we are awaring 365 Love Awards to those who participate. If you want to join the share-care, email me at info@mudministries.org This is about loving people, sharing, and caring.

This poem illustrates the purity of love, the depth to which we each may rise and shine no matter what the status of life, or the chaos around us--love is a position of victory against inseemingly insurmountable odds. Be an odds maker, share your story, give someone hope.

Our Deepest Fear

by Marianne Williamson

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about your shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you.We are all meant to shine as children do.

We are all meant to manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates
others."

Beyond Blackness

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven." Eccles 3:1

I pondered this scripture from the Old Testament this morning and realized that I'm in a new season of life. It is always amazing when we can actually identify beginnings and endings in our daily circumstances. This time it is just WHAM! Stop. And then pick up here. Do you ever have those times? What do you do about them?

This stop and start season reminds me of riding the subway in New York City. One time we had a spectacular blizzard, think it was 2003. For some strange reason I decided to go into Manhattan to my office. Yes, I'm a workaholic! Taking a taxi from my apartment to the transit station, I boarded the #4 then WHAM! all of a sudden the train stopped. Normally that wouldn't have been a problem except we were at one of the junctions under the East River. Oh, that was bad enough.

So here we are, my fellow passengers and me, just reading and doing what subway riders in New York City normally do, when another WHAM! all the lights went out. We were under the East River in complete darkness. A few moments passed and some of the most horrible odors started to seep into the cracks of the car we were in. Terrorists attack? It had only been two years since the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. My own prayers began to go towards heaven.

I had on my sneakers (all New Yorkers know to wear flat shoes on subways for just a time as this), and I had my purse flashlight. If you've ever seen the darkness of the subway lines, you know is it beyond blackness. Its hard to estimate time in total darkness--have you ever noticed that? All you could hear was the muffled talk of the passengers; moms trying to calm kids, and the steady drip, drip, drip of water seeping into the tunnel.

After a while the train was gearing back up to move along. Emergency lights were flickering, ah relief. It was short lived and we stopped and started many times into Manhattan that day.

What does that have to do witha a time and a season under heaven? I learned that I can still become instantly concerned about being in complete darkness (LOL) and that I can sit calmly and wait for help, or make a plan out of any situation. The seasons of life are sandpaper to build a better tomorrow, and for that I am truly grateful.

Like many of you, I have had horrendous WHAM! Slams! in life, but always God has been there to help me pick up the pieces and move me on down the tracks of life.