Recently(very)we had a neighbor(when you live in a community of 20,000 folks we're all neighbors)drop his mental ball(I think they used to call this "losing you marbles). I don't know all of the specific parts and pieces of the sordid tale of terror, but I've heard enough from the people next door to visualize the destruction. It had to have something to do with relationships. I say this because in one way or another everything good or bad stems from a type of relationship issue. The guy(I'll call him Bob), Bob, drove his vehicle into his wife's car parked next door. Ramming it repeatedly until both were utterly and completely destroyed. That is not good! Some might say that this was only the upshot of something going really wrong in his life, but the signs of problems were there a long time before the fuse burned down. Bob went ahead after destroying the vehicles to tear his home apart from end to end, smashing windows and walls with equal abandon. Basically making it look like something in a war zone. Not everyone comes apart this way, some do it silently, others don't even realize they've come apart, they just go through the motions of day to day living in their personal hell on earth without realizing that life could be better, a whole lot better! I'm idealistic. People have been telling me that for so long that I now simply admit it and move ahead. After all, somebody has to fit this label, too, you know? Bob is at one end of the spectrum and as such represents the worst(maybe not the epitomy of worst, but close)of what happens to people when their picture of life is fractured. Bob probably was trying to pull all the pieces back together for a long time before going hell bent in the direction of destruction. Perhaps(the idealist enters in)if he had the tools that faith provides for our lives there could have been a drastically different result from his dilemma.
Where we now have a son living with friends and a wife that is alienated beyond belief there might have been healing and new visions sought, if there had been a faith perspective upon which to draw. If you or anyone you know ever has the experience of "falling apart" please know that there is one whose sole purpose in this life is to bind up wounds, heal the afflictions, and make clear that which has become dim. Christ reaches out to all who would invite Him in and presents us with the tools by which we can be made whole. Not just once, but continually if that is what is needed. We can't just attempt to do it alone(we can, but it works about as well as frozen paste does as a substitue for hot wood glue)although we try that direction far too often. During the 60's there were lots of sayings about "getting it together," and "finding ourselves," looking back I think we were on the right track, we just didn't have all the necessary equipment. Things aren't always going to be perfect, but you and I can have at our disposal the "right" wrench that will prevent things from getting worse. Our world is populated with psychs of all kinds, counselors galore, not to mention the social workers and other well-meaning people available to "help" you and me. The truth is, the very best help we can ever get is found in faith in a Savior with whom, "all things are possible" for those who choose to believe. If life isn't what you would like it to be(whose is?)maybe you'd give God a shot at helping. He is always there, and He has some really good folks working for Him right in your neighborhood. God bless, Preacher.
2 comments:
How do you know it isn't God's plan for him to come apart this way and destroy everything that he once loved? Didn't he do that to Saul and Job and many others? Assuming that faith and trust in God will make your life easier seems contridictory to the message of the bible. My brother is a preacher and is always going on that peoples lives would be better and they would be happier. i'll give you that a life of faith and trust in a higher power is less stressful, but he only promises to take care of your soul not your body. So be humble and remember that chemical imbalances could be just as responsible as anything else and without knowing the full picture it is illogical to assume that ones faith is the sole garruntee of a happy life.
Zeke and Linda-I appreciate your kind words and your insight. Not everything is as "good" as we'd like it to be. Tending toward the half full outlook on life usually leaves me seeing the upside of things. Perhaps 'Bob' will find all that he has sought through destruction. The road is long, the hour is late, and the wise man knows when to rest and when to rise up. God bless, Preacher.
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