First of all let me just say to Mary and Dave that I'm sorry you are going through some tough stuff. I too am [and have been] going through some very tough stuff and I know that it really can cause allot of inner turmoil. That is painful. I understand.
Jim I think I can relate to what you are saying here:
"
...and yet I know that many of those who recognize certain injustices as myself would turn on me in a heartbeat over something else."-Jim
If I am recognizing the content of what you are expressing here, I would say that this highlights the 'agreement' we can find in the world for the many, many hard things we find all around us . It SEEMS so right to jump on the it's not fair attitude[for u and I] and yet as you have said, that mind would only turn against us if given a chance. Something living lurks behind the shadow of this temporary consolation, no?
Well, I've always known that about you, Jim. I' was blessed to have shared that similiar common-ground with Dave. Not that it hasn't always been there, but he's been going through so many changes in his experience with his father, the grief, the relating with him in it, that I was missing the understanding of the Life of Christ that we hold together. And, yet, somehow last night he was able to verbalize that fleshly mindset that wars against my spirit.
I have more to share, but have had to stop to go over to Target, so I'll share more at a 'quieter' time.:)
I fully understand the dilemma you face — heck, the dilemma that all of us face. It is so true that because our eyes are constantly being opened by God's Spirit, we will not only see so many of life's inequities — things that are truly unfair — but we will also not be able to ignore the games of the fleshly mind that would put its own spin upon those injustices. I can tell you that I recognize what it is to want to jump on so many of the world's bandwagons, for there are many injustices done in the world around me that I cannot ignore ... and yet I know that many of those who recognize certain injustices as myself would turn on me in a heartbeat over something else. It's already happened enough, I suppose, so it would be madness not to call it for what it is. A lot of this probably doesn't have much to do specifically with what's going in your world ... but it's all the same in another way.
Marys post is correct but maybe i could add a little detail . a lot of what we have been talking about relates to two situations with loved family members and how we and they are facing things that come up in life.one is my dad and his dementia and how difficult it has been to see this man we love go from being the strong patriarch of the family to having to be in a locked senior center memory unit and all in an 8 week span.
the other is an extended family member that never seems willing or able to assume any responsibility for even the smallest life decisions. that everything that happens to her is the result of someone elses actions or the lack there of and that life is not basically "fair" . then to compound things we are constantly told we really can't know how things are because we have had things easier than her.
these two situations have both stretched us concerning how we see understand and receive the grace of God. That the process includes our having our minds renewed by Him in the midst of mind numbing trauma. that life in the physical realm is not always pretty or even to be understood but life in the spirit is love joy and peace.
First of all let me just say to Mary and Dave that I'm sorry you are going through some tough stuff. I too am [and have been] going through some very tough stuff and I know that it really can cause allot of inner turmoil. That is painful. I understand.
Jim I think I can relate to what you are saying here:
"
...and yet I know that many of those who recognize certain injustices as myself would turn on me in a heartbeat over something else."-Jim
If I am recognizing the content of what you are expressing here, I would say that this highlights the 'agreement' we can find in the world for the many, many hard things we find all around us . It SEEMS so right to jump on the it's not fair attitude[for u and I] and yet as you have said, that mind would only turn against us if given a chance. Something living lurks behind the shadow of this temporary consolation, no?
Well, I've always known that about you, Jim.
I' was blessed to have shared that similiar common-ground with Dave. Not that it hasn't always been there, but he's been going through so many changes in his experience with his father, the grief, the relating with him in it, that I was missing the understanding of the Life of Christ that we hold together. And, yet, somehow last night he was able to verbalize that fleshly mindset that wars against my spirit.
I have more to share, but have had to stop to go over to Target, so I'll share more at a 'quieter' time.:)
Mary and Dave,
I fully understand the dilemma you face — heck, the dilemma that all of us face. It is so true that because our eyes are constantly being opened by God's Spirit, we will not only see so many of life's inequities — things that are truly unfair — but we will also not be able to ignore the games of the fleshly mind that would put its own spin upon those injustices. I can tell you that I recognize what it is to want to jump on so many of the world's bandwagons, for there are many injustices done in the world around me that I cannot ignore ... and yet I know that many of those who recognize certain injustices as myself would turn on me in a heartbeat over something else. It's already happened enough, I suppose, so it would be madness not to call it for what it is. A lot of this probably doesn't have much to do specifically with what's going in your world ... but it's all the same in another way.
Jim :)
Marys post is correct but maybe i could add a little detail
. a lot of what we have been talking about relates to two situations with loved family members and how we and they are facing things that come up in life.one is my dad and his dementia and how difficult it has been to see this man we love go from being the strong patriarch of the family to having to be in a locked senior center memory unit and all in an 8 week span.
the other is an extended family member that never seems willing or able to assume any responsibility for even the smallest life decisions. that everything that happens to her is the result of someone elses actions or the lack there of and that life is not basically "fair" . then to compound things we are constantly told we really can't know how things are because we have had things easier than her.
these two situations have both stretched us concerning how we see understand and receive the grace of God. That the process includes our having our minds renewed by Him in the midst of mind numbing trauma. that life in the physical realm is not always pretty or even to be understood but life in the spirit is love joy and peace.