Whether the Weather.

It has been really quite nice out.  It's a shame I've only gone swimming once so far.  I know this is old news but it's remarkable how fast the summer is going.  I was looking forward to it being like this and now...  Why aren't I out there right at this moment?  I'll go out in a bit.

But it's always "in a bit".  Or "later".  Sometimes, I feel like the king of procrastination.  I'll read my Bible later.  I'll edit all those videos later.  I'll do the laundry later.  I'll go out and mow the lawn in a bit. Even relaxing and going outside to go for a walk or a bike ride.  Later.  And I get in this rut of "oh poor me, I can't do it.  Why am I so lazy?  Yadah yadah yadah."  It makes me sad that I'm so "meh" a lot of the time.  But I keep forgetting that I don't have to try and get out of that rut on my own.  I have an ever-loving, all-knowing, God to help me.  He wants me to enjoy his creation.  To be happy.  He wants me to be productive.  But ultimately he wants me to look to Him to do it.  To be satisfied in Him.

"God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him." - John Piper.

This is true Joy.  When we delight in the things that God intended for us and in the way he intended for us to them, we feel this Joy.  A semi-recent sermon I heard at church helped clarify this point.  We may feel "happy" at times via things of this world and the way this world enjoys them.  But it is a temporary happiness that will fade and leave us feeling with a nagging emptiness.  A sense of longing.  God needs to be the reason.  Or at least, in every reason.

With Him, we go be out in his creation, and be productive and take care of the things God has given us.

And enjoy the weather.

Your's In Writing

All In Good Timing

        Tick.  Tick.  Tick.  Tick.  Tick.  Tick.  Tick.
        Kyle had just woken up.  His watch was on the nightstand, inches away from his ear. 
        A deep breath.
        Here we go again.  Another day.
        He wasn’t sure if he could do this much longer.  If it weren’t for God, he knew he wouldn’t have the strength to do it at all.  But even with abilities outside of himself, this was quite difficult.
        Being an Empath means feeling what other people feel, regardless of if they explain it to you or not.  Regardless of if you understand it or not.  It means feeling intense emotions: someone else’s in addition to your own.
        Kyle had asked for this.  He had prayed.  And then he forgot about it.  Like a lot of other things he’d prayed for in the past.  In moments of self-doubt he would ask for talents, for gifts, for abilities.  And then things would get better and he’d realize he didn’t need all those things.  The way he was made was more than good enough.  And he’d forget about it.  And eventually, when he wasn’t expecting it nor was he prepared for it, he’d get what he had asked for.
        This was one of those things—to be able to understand other people’s minds.  Not to read them.
        That’s crazy, Kyle thought to himself.
        Just to understand them.
        And now he could.  It had been developing for a while, he realized.  Before he had even asked for it. 
        Little things before like thinking along the same lines as someone.  Coming to the same conclusion they did at the same time.  Being in the mood for the same food as other people in the group. 
        But now it was more.  Shared feelings.  Emotions.  Maybe a touch of persuasion.  Was it magic?  Psychic energy?  Or was it just intuition…a logical train of thinking being able to arrive at conclusions that other people have because well, it’s the logical conclusion.  And there could be explanations for everything else as well.  But maybe there didn’t need to be.  Just like we can explain how birth happens and the creation of life, but that doesn’t negate that it’s a miracle from God. 
        He no longer believed in chance or coincidence.
        Serendipity.  Destiny.  God’s timing.
        There were accidents, yes.  And tragedies.  Unfortunate acts of nature that took people’s lives.  There was terrorism and crime that ran rampant.  But with the individual person’s life?  Everything was connected. 
        And Kyle saw it.  He felt time ticking away, like his watch.  He saw the connections everywhere.  For example, Person A met Person B because Kyle brought “B” somewhere that “A” worked at.   It was all connected.  And Kyle meeting “A” in the first place?  It was a meeting that seemed planned, being at the right place at the right time.
        But not everyone is ready for this awareness—the people around those that have it.  And when it is shared.  When it is used.  People can be uneasy.  But with this awareness, if it is truly from God, comes patience.  And it is strongly needed.
        Kyle didn’t know what his purpose was for having this gift if those that he thought he was meant to help rejected it.  And then he was stuck feeling what they felt, plus his own rejection.  Plus the horror of not being able to help, watching someone suffer and being able to do nothing.
        He had asked for this.
        And now he had it.
        He prayed once more.  “God, please show me how to wield, whatever this is.  Teach me when to step in and when to step away, despite what other people say.  Help me to understand that I am helping, even though it feels sometimes like I’m making it worse. Amen.”
        Another deep breath.
        Kyle showered and got dressed.  Then went outside, squinting from the bright day that it was.
        “Alright.  Let’s do this.”