Those who do not know how to weep with their whole heart don't know how to laugh either - Golda Meir.
We all know people who live on the fringes of life. They seem uninvolved with the activity in their midst, as though a pane of glass separated them from us. And there are times when we join the persons standing alone away from the vibrancy of life. Fears keep people apart, particularly the fear of letting go of the vulnerable self and joining in the feelings of the moment.
To fully reap the benefits of life, we have to risk full exposure to one another and to the experience of the moment. Full involvement in the ebb and flow of life will bring the weeping that accompanies both the pain and the joy of life. It will also bring the fruits of laughter.
Both laughter and weeping cleanse us. They bring closure to an experience. They make possible our letting go. And we must let go of pain, as well as joy, to ready ourselves for the next blessing life offers.
When we keep ourselves apart, when we hold off the tears or the laughter, we cheat ourselves of the richness of life. We have to go through an experience fully in order to learn all it can teach us and then be free of it.
K. Casey
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Past experiences never let me go until I fully grieve those that need to be grieved or laugh over those that deserve the light touch. The present is distorted when the past shadows it.
"SIX Teenagers - Indian Christian girls - gathered around my dining room table at an after-school Bible study. They were in various stages of growth in self-worth. I longed that they might grasp the truth that God loves and accepts each of them totally and without reservation.
WHEN we fail in our behavior, we sometimes feel that God no longer accepts us. He does not always like our actions, but His acceptance of us is complete (*provided we have sincerely asked Him "to come into" our heart).
The adversary is so quick to whisper, "Your'e no good! You can't do anything right! How can you call yourself a Christian?"
SOMEONE has said that all spiritual battles are won or lost at the door of the mind. IF we allow sinful thoughts to control us, we will fail. We need to be aware that the adversary/enemy is out to destroy us, and he often attacks us through our thought life. DWELLING on thoughts of rejection, jealousy, bitter feelings, guilt or worry often leads to Depression.
BUT we can shut the door of our mind and refuse to think about things that will lead us into sinful/bad thoughts (conscience) or actions. IF we go by our feelings, by remarks people make or the way we were treated as we grew up, we may have problems accepting ourselves. OUR feelings about ourselves need to be based on the facts in God's Word, NOT on the opinions of others.
WHEN we are tempted to think about things that will lead to wrong actions or depression, we must, by an act of our will, refuse to allow the adversary to control our thought life. ( * even verbally mentioning to God - at the particular time that you may need to, according to your circumstance, so that the temptation will lessen, and if necessary/if being 'hard-line' attacked, sincerely say to God that you also "renounce any power that the adversary has over your life and claim the Victory of Christ; the Power of the Resurrection" - mine interpretation.k. )
Remember: you belong to God, and He loves you." LINDA WOOD
