Hello Haloed Mortal –
How are you doing?
Do you believe in any of the HolyDays that are coming up this month? If so, do you ever find it difficult to actually celebrate it?
You probably already know, you’re not alone.
Been wondering why I’ve been struggling emotionally these last couple of weeks.
I know the abuses ramped up around the holidays, and the ring leader of the second era of hell’s birthday (who many others celebrate) was a few days ago, but thought that had been dealt with to the degree that it wouldn’t create the depth of memories and grief it had in the past. And I’ve been keeping pretty busy doing some positive stuff, having work done on the house and working on some smaller projects myself and consistently doing the inner healing work, but the depression has been clingy.
But I forgot, on a conscious level, what the rest of this post is about even though I’ve been thinking about the town (but not the event). Had a ‘bingo – that’s the issue’ moment when I read something about it.
So now maybe I can deal with the grief and that’ll then allow what I believe in and (supposedly) celebrate this time of year to become greater than the as yet not-completely-healed echoes of the past.
Also have several friends facing scary, grief, or seemingly impossible situations in their own lives. If you’re a praying or ‘well-wishing’ kind of person would you put a few words in for the nameless who are struggling through the season? (God knows who they are.)
I’m returning the favor, and if you’d like to be prayed for with a specific reason you can leave a message in the comment section. If you let me know you don’t want it published publicly, I will respect that.
On to the re-post . . .
I just heard about the shooting that happened at the high school I graduated from and can’t stop crying. Although you good people already know this, I feel a compulsion to iterate: Please be kind, you never know when kindness might influence another to keep them from doing something they can never take back.
A full circle moment is happening because a friend (my Sister Of Spirit, ‘SOS’) and I recently reconnected after not seeing each other since we were in our early twenties. SOS was the one person I couldn’t push away during the teen years, and she (and God, though I didn’t know it at the time) got me through them. I never told her, back then, what was going on in my life but her innate, persistent, kindness kept me from doing something (to myself) that could never have been reversed. Today when I texted her about what happened I thanked her for being the difference in my childhood.
I pray to be the difference for someone else.
No matter which holiday season we may or may not observe, it can be a time of joy, truly loving visiting and celebration, or stress, confusion, conflicting feelings, and/or grief, loneliness and desolation. Difficult feelings can be compounded due to the pressure some people feel because it seems the world is telling us we ‘should’ be so excited, cheerful, loving and giving.
I’ll be honest, like so many other good people I struggle to varying degrees during these times. It’s not a personal ‘flaw’ or sin, nor is it weak or shameful to feel and admit this. Truth should never be denied or told to shut up just because it may make others uncomfortable. It’s only by bringing the darker truths into the light of honesty that we can create the hope and perhaps healing that comes from knowing we are not alone. Then maybe, together, we can encourage each other enough to get us through the darkest moments when desperate decisions can be made that create consequences we can never rescind.
And even though we, as mortals, may not be able to see it in those most painful moments when someone chooses to hold onto hope in the midst of their God awful pain, that’s when Heaven rejoices.
Dear Heavenly Father, help us to remember that sometimes joy in ourselves and others cannot always be fabricated and shared to our specifications. Remind me to not ignore someone who is in dire need of a smile or blessing just because it might infringe on my comfort zone. And also remind me that just because someone else may not get an immediate ‘pick-me-up’ from what I tried to do for them does not discount the gesture. It just may be the seed that sprouts in time to keep them (and perhaps others) safe. If only we could see Heaven’s joy then!
If you’re struggling, please know people do care (although that may be hard to see right now), and life is getting better. If you need someone to talk to, on the homepage underneath the ‘recent posts’ section is a list of numbers to call. Please don’t hesitate to use them; people are ready to listen because we do care about you. Lord knows, I’ve used several of them a few times, and it always helps.
(Picture above is Pearl’s, and it’s the display a couple of gems from Pearl Unchained erected at a local park. Great job, Melissa and Kathy!)
Hi Pearl, I empathize dear. Part of it may S A D ? As usual in the midst of your struggle, you pray for others. I love you my dear friend
Hi Billie – Thank you, once again, for being such a loyal reader of the blog and adding your own comments – I love it!
S.A.D. could be a component, I suppose. Thanks for the input!
Grateful for you,
Pearl