quote

"I felt a nice, fresh breeze a moment ago. Where has it gone to?"
- Tennessee Williams, in 'The Glass Menagerie'

Monday, January 16, 2012

becoming the victor

"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.  And he who searches the hearts of men knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."    Romans 8:26-27


How you respond to pain and weakness is in your own hands.

That was the overall message of the sermon we received at church yesterday.


"Quit being the victim and become the victor." - Brother Al Geise

...and that is so incredibly true.  If we accept responsibility for our own reactions to pain, then we can take control of situations.  God doesn't control our reactions to situation - we do.  Much like we control our own destiny.  God is with us to help hold us up when we are feeling down and out, but we have the power to control our mood.

If I am feeling down in the dumps, I have the power to become happy instead.  All I have to do is decide that I'm not going to let things get me down.

Afterall, who likes being down (in any way, shape, or form)??
Not me, my friends.
Not me.


"The Holy Spirit knows exactly where to tinker." - Brother Al Geise

Much like a mechanic knows how to fix an engine,
     or a computer engineer knows how to fix a computer,
   or a doctor knows how to fix a patient...
The Holy Spirit knows just what to "tinker" with to fix us when we need assistance.

We make the decision to change things, and God knows just where to tinker to fix said problem.

We have the power.
He has the knowledge.
We have the tools.
He has the know-how.

How we respond to each and every situation that is present is directly linked to how we decide to respond. 

I can't even begin to list the amount of times that I know in the past that I have chosen to be angry about things simply because it felt easier to be angry than to try and make the effort to push the anger aside and be happy instead.  And it hasn't been until the last 7 or 8 months of my life that I've decided learned to choose happiness over bitterness, or anger, or sadness...

7 months ago, I met the most amazing man (one who I now know I am meant to spend the rest of my life with)... but also, 7 months ago, I lost one of the most wonderful men I've ever known - my grandfather, my peppy.  We lost him to Alzheimer's after a 6 year battle.

Truthfully?  We lost him years ago, but physically he passed away 7 months ago.  I wasn't sure how to react... he was the only grandfather I had left (aside from my great-grandfather, who is 94-years-old and healthy as an ox, by the way).  It didn't matter that he technically hadn't been with us for years.  In my heart, I know he knew who I was.  He fought that battle, he fought it with as much strength as he could muster... and in the end?  He didn't lose, in my mind.

Nay, in my mind, he was victorious beyond measure.  He held on as long as he possibly could, and in the end, he wound up in a place far grander than you or I can imagine.  He is in Heaven with our Father, with my big sister, with so many loved ones... that is a true victory.

It was because of this realization that I realized my strength and power in making a decision between happy and sad, in making a decision to feel how I choose to feel.  Indeed, I did feel sad at the death of my only living grandfather, my Peppy, a man who had taught me so many things throughout my life, but at the same time... I felt a sense of peace and happiness for him.  Because from that point on, he was whole again.  He knew who he was, and who I am, and who my family members are.  He was himself again.  He was... victorious.

Healing isn't easy, but it is possible - because we control our reactions and our outcomes.  We can choose not to be the victim but to instead be the victor.


I'll just leave you with that thought.
(cause it sure is a good one)

:)

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