It was a dark & stormy night…

It was a dark & stormy night…

It was a dark & stormy night… .” So the mystery begins, drawing us into its furtive intrigue. For some of us reading such a mystery is an escape, an alternate realm wherein we leave our realities behind. For others, their lives are already dark & stormy; there is no solace in such an escape. Or so it seems. They need the exhaustion that extreme sports or exercise drains from their body. Still others carry their darkness & storms within, never finding relief or rest. Their souls are devoured in  secret isolation.

There is an evil that lurks on the edges of all of our lives. For some, it creeps inside barely noticed; one day we awake to find it has taken over every aspect of our lives— our loving, our caring, giving, peacefulness, and sense of nobility. We succumb to this evil unwittingly, because it is so pervasive across our postChristian culture. At other times we cooperate with it wholeheartedly; giving sway seems the only way to survive in this shark infested economy, the only way to get ahead. We give over our integrity to this evil because it doesn’t seem to matter as much as our own need for self-preservation.

His raises some core questions about life— Upon what is my personal integrity based? How valuable is my own sense of nobility among men? How will I know evil when I see it? When those dark & stormy times come, what will I let go first? My faith? My ethics? My trustworthiness? Conversely, what principles will I never relinquish? These are NOT questions to raise in the midst of life’s twists & turns. They are issues to be settled well beforehand, when your soul is alive and your mind clear of corruption. For, of a surety, corruption will come upon you. How will you respond? Who will you Be in the muck and filth as it presses in on all sides? How will you maintain clarity within your heart and soul as depression sucks you down?

Some thoughts—

1. Steel your soul through weekly (if not daily) times of silence, before God, and give your soul a rest.
2. Give yourself over to those novels, those athletic challenges that bring you enervation & exhaustion.
3. Serve your employer with integrity. Go beyond what is required of you.
4. Allow people to love you. You were designed to be loved…, and to love.
5. Consider getting ahead by empowering others.
6. Re-evaluate the whole question of God. How well do you know Him? Has He given you any clues about who you are or who you need to Be in order to make a difference in this world?
7. In writing, describe your own sense of nobility.
8. FEAR is normal; get used to it. Get used to becoming a HERO, too. Rise to the occasion.
9. FAILURE is also normal: get used to it. It is the context for successful humility.
10. Never try to hide from God or your friends. Somehow, they will both know exactly what’s up.

In the long run how you walk through those dark & stormy nights will provide the context for your sunnier days.

Have a nice week,

Gary