by Shelley Fowler
So…..I had this week’s column all written. I finished it late at night, planning to read it over with fresh eyes and mind the next morning before submitting it for publication. I rose early – even before the birds and sun – and with a cup of coffee in hand, began editing what my heart had written just a few hours hence.
I ended up deleting the column. Going back to the beginning – a white, blank screen upon the computer monitor – because I realized that now is not the time to talk about the subjects I believe are the root causes of our woes: greed and the mentality of ’entitlement’. No – for this day, for this week, I have decided that it’s much more important to focus above and beyond the crisis of clamorous cacophony currently rippling across the country.
Believe me, I can do my fair share of opining about the audacity of those who hold the reins and sit on the front row of our government. I can also mightily mutter at the morning news shows and yes, sometimes I think of throwing a pillow at the television screen when certain people’s faces come into view. And I keep thinking: “By golly! These people work for us – not the other way around!!” While I think it’s very important to keep that thought in mind, I know that we – the common folks – are also responsible for the current state of affairs of not only the government but of our own lives!
Okay – I digressed there for a minute, didn’t I? Like so many of you, these days my mind has a way of doing that…returning to thinking about the big picture, the fragile future, the muddled money mess, the dubious delegation of decision makers who are shaping, and to my way of thinking, mangling our heart-held beliefs and desired way of life! In so many ways I feel so impotent in being able to stem the tide or alter the reality of where we are…and where we’re going…on this slippery slope sliding ever so softly towards a socialistic society. (Which, by the way, is merely the middle ground between capitalism and communism – according to Marx!)
But, whoa, Shelley! Once again I have digressed and focused on that which I had decided not to focus on this week! It’s not the problems and possible outcomes we face daily that I want to write about – it’s how we cope with, survive, and yes, even thrive from those problems.
Or rather, I want to share with you why I am able to listen to, opine upon, and yet not fear the future or the daily doses of dour news, both of which I have no or little control over. And perhaps, by sharing my very simple yet successful coping skills, you too will be buoyed, blessed and empowered with the knowledge that all is not lost, anything is possible and that there truly is nothing to fear….but fear itself!
I don’t have a troubled or depressed heart, nor do I painfully grapple with the ways of the world because I have chosen – and yes, it is a matter of consciously choosing – to place my trust, my faith and any moments of fearfulness about the future into the eternally capable and outstretched hands of my Father. And I have taken to heart the promise that beneath His wings I shall find a refuge of sweet peace, quiet joy and hopefulness in a world increasingly devoid of such things. All it takes to have them is belief – belief that has jumped the hurdle from the head and found its way into the deepest recesses of the heart, soul and spirit
I realize that some folks might think I’m doing the same as hiding my head in an ostrich hole or copping out on reality by willingly ceding unto God the reins of my life; thus not worrying about and fretting over what is to come, nor spending my time with angry clenched fists, knotted ‘innards’, insomnia or a fear-filled spirit. Perhaps some people may think it’s too simple, too naïve, too illogical and way too irresponsible to place everything I have and am, and everything that our nation is and will become, into the hands of an unseen entity who more and more people are believing less and less even exists!
Since I have the mindset that my Father is quite able to defend His own existence, I won’t go charging down that path…at least not today! And I won’t try to convince anyone that a winged refuge, peace and joy await you when you dare to rely more on God than on yourself.
But I can, and I will, try my up-most best to be a living epistle, since the only proof that what I say is true can be found by how I live. I want to be – I choose to be – an ordinary person who truly endeavors to not only talk the talk, but also walk the walk, when it comes to facing with faith, freshness and fearlessness not only the future, but each and every day of this precious experience we so lovingly call Life! Would you care to join me? After all….the more, the merrier!
