Did the devil make me do it?

With anxious eyes she looked at my badge which declared ‘Happy to pray with you’ and asked for a few minutes in private. As I listened, her problem actually seemed to be a non-issue for her anyway. Hmmmm. So, I asked “Is there something else that is troubling you?” And THAT’s when the tears began streaming down her face uncontrollably. ‘sob, sob, sniff, sniff and sob again’ I reached for the box of tissues, touched her shoulder reassuringly, and prepared to listen as she poured her troubled heart out.

Lady was very happily married, had a great job, wonderful husband and a lovely, healthy toddler. Her relationship with her in-laws was a happy one too. BUT you know how it is when we push something to the back of our minds and pretend that it is therefore resolved, but know deep, deep within that it really isn’t?

That is what Lady had done when she had begun her relationship with the man who was now her husband. In her opinion; one of the choices she had made all those years ago was against her personal convictions but she went ahead and made it anyway. And although for all intents and purposes the world thought everything was fine, her conscience said that to her it was not. So we to-ed and fro-ed, criss-crossing the backroads of her mind, exploring what was really troubling her, confronted them, and presto! She was good to go – and just get on with the business of living life to the fullest with no bugbears niggling at her in the background. Joy oh joy, the next time we met she flashed a radiant, carefree smile at me. She had forgiven herself and was free, free FREE! Ha ha That’s the way it should be! God says so.

Now Woman had also given in to a bout of self-indulgence, but unlike Lady, had quite easily justified her actions to herself. Yeah, I did that, SO WHAT! Well, her problem was wondering whether her friends had excused her? The next time we all met up she defiantly strutted towards us with shoulders marching, almost daring someone to react unfavorably. But you know what? Everyone just took the day as any other, and Woman visibly relaxed and was able to be herself and get on with life. Unlike Lady, she had been looking for forgiveness from others. And she had got it too. YES!

In both cases accepting and giving forgiveness was the key to self-given permission for making a wholesome fresh start. Like it or not, we have to live with ourselves and also with others and there are consequences to what we do, whether we want to admit that or not. Lady and Woman happily got to a place where for them there was no more condemnation from anyone – just an expectation that the past was past indeed and that a new day meant a new beginning that did not include reverting to old indulgences that had been mistakes. They could start writing honestly on a clean new page for the benefit of the face in the mirror.

Sure, we can wallow and/or cringe in the opinions of others, but there’s no escaping that WE make our own choices. AND that we can choose to make each day a fresh start of new freedoms to live at peace with ourselves, and with those around us too, without obligation. God’s Promises are new every morning and His Love for each person is simply unconditional, and is there for the asking and taking. Happy Sunday peeps!

HA HA ☺:
The devil made me do it – Flip Wilson X
The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions – Leonardo da Vinci √
Nothing is easier than self-deceit. For what each man wishes, that he also believes to be true. – Demosthenes √

Is there Poison in Your Food?

I pulled over to the side of the road to take the call – my pulse beats raced and my heart began sinking in disbelief as I heard the words “My partner says don’t do it. He knows that it won’t work.”

Just a couple of days before I had explained to Bizman and Wife, whom I’d known for many years, how he could start increasing the number of business projects he gets, with the accompanying evidence of how the strategy has already been working sustainably for decades. No, I don’t get paid for any of this. In fact it is done at my own expense of time and money for transport as well as the accompanying refreshments at meetings. My friends ask me why I bother to make the effort.

Well, remember Ngahi – the man in a previous blog, who had determinedly had his face tattooed to proclaim his purpose? His challenge to his listeners had been to identify “what makes you weep?” and then to unwaveringly work to address that particular issue, as a personal mission. From him I understood that it takes both persistence and pain to act to reduce the weeping. For me the weeping comes from knowing that every human has access to greater inner joy and outer prosperity, but needs others who are willing to show them the access points, and to lead them through, if they indeed have in themselves the willingness to step up to the next level of personal fulfillment. It is People who are my passion and Ngahi drove home to me that it will take a lifetime of painful persistence to reduce the weeping if I am serious about being true to myself.

So, I had offered to introduce Bizman and Wife to a group of people who would be willing to commit themselves to learning more about what they do, and to recommending their services to those to whom they already do business with. Isn’t it magical to have credible people refer business from their own networks to you? They believed so too and made their own commitment to check the opportunity out. BUT like the serpent in Eden, their trusted Bizpartner sowed the seeds of doubt in their minds, and they become torn between fear of potential loss and stepping up to potential gain.

Familiar, isn’t it? You’ve been there too, haven’t you? The seductively pretty faces of trusted feelings, comfort zones and pleasant familiarity can be the narcotics that keep us from realizing that we are willingly consuming toxic arsenic – it shows no trace in our food, you know. Often arsenic is detected only at autopsies i.e. after death has already occurred and its too late for resuscitation.

I decided to take the bull by the horns, and invite Bizpartner to come along to meet the group too. Will he dare to call his own bluff? We’ll see if he does show up won’t we! Hopefully he will, and can then take some steps up for himself too. If he wants to, that is.

Oh those pretty faces in our lives that cleverly tickle our egos and so artfully please us all!