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God's Message to Woman
When I created the heavens and the earth, I spoke them into being. When I
created man, I formed him and breathed life into his nostrils.
But you, woman, I fashioned after I breathed the breath of life into man
because your nostrils are too delicate. I allowed a deep sleep to come over
him so I could patiently and perfectly fashion you.
Man was put to sleep so that he could not interfere with the creativity.
From one bone I fashioned you. I chose the bone that protects man's life. I
chose the rib, which protects his heart and lungs and supports him, as you
are meant to do. Around this one bone I shaped you. I modeled you. I created
you perfectly and beautifully. Your characteristics are as the rib, strong
yet delicate and fragile. You provide protection for the most delicate organ
in man, his heart. His heart is the center of his being; his lungs hold the
breath of life. The rib cage will allow itself to be broken before it will
allow damage to the heart.
Support man as the rib cage supports the body. You were not taken from his
feet, to be under him, nor were you taken from his head, to be above him.
You were taken from his side, to stand beside him and be held close to his
side. You are my perfect angel. You are my beautiful little girl. You have
grown to be a splendid woman of excellence, and my eyes fill when I see the
virtue in your heart. Your eyes -- don't change them. Your lips -- how
lovely when they part in prayer. Your nose so perfect in form, your hands so
gentle to touch. I've caressed your face in your deepest sleep; I've held
your heart close to mine. Of all that lives and breathes, you are the most
like me.
Adam walked with me in the cool of the day and yet he was lonely. He could
not see me or touch me. He could only feel me. So everything I wanted Adam
to share and experience with me, I fashioned in you: my holiness, my
strength, my purity, my love, my protection and support. You are special
because you are the extension of me. Man represents my image -- woman, my
emotions. Together, you represent the totality of God.
So man -- "treat woman well. Love her, respect her, for she is fragile". In
hurting her, you hurt me. What you do to her, you do to me. In crushing her,
you only damage your own heart, the heart of your Father and the heart of
her Father.
Woman, support man. In humility, show him the power of emotion I have given
you. In gentle quietness show your strength. In love, show him that you are
the rib that protects his inner self. |
"WHY DO
BEGINNINGS HAVE AN END?"
Why do beginning's have an end? Why do we have to meet only to lose in the
end?
These are questions left unanswered, word left unsaid, letters left unread,
poems left undone, songs left unsung, love left unexpressed, promises left
unfulfilled. In a relationship, one of the hardest things to do is saying
goodbye and letting go. It's as hard as breaking a crystal because you'll
never know when you'll be able to pick up the pieces again. More often than
not, they who go feel not the pain of parting; it is they who stay behind
that suffer, because they are left with memories of love that was meant to
be a love that was.
At the beginning and at the end of a relationship, we are embarrassed to
find ourselves alone. Unfair as it may seem, but that's the drama, the
bittersweet and the risk of falling in love. After all nothing is constant
but change. Everything will eventually come to its end without us knowing
when, without us even knowing why ...and we must forget not because we want
to, but because we have to. In letting go, sorrows come not as single spy
but in battalion. It seems that everywhere you go, everything you do, every
song you hear, every turn of your head, every move of your body, every beat
of your heart, every blink of your eye and every breath you take always
remind you of him. It's like a stab of a knife, a torture in the night.
Funny how the whole world becomes depopulated when only one person is
missing. Just imagine there are four billion people on earth and yet it
seems you feel lonely and empty without the other.
I don't know if it's worth calling an art, but letting go entails special
skills sparkled with a considerable space and time. Time heals wounds but it
takes push on our part. Acceptance plays a part. Not all wishes come true.
Not all love stories end with "happily ever after." We hate to suffer if it
would mean happiness to others. We have to cry to temporarily let go of the
pain. Every beginning has its end like every dawn has its dusk. It's
something we can't control, something we have to live up with. It's over,
he's gone. But life has to go on. Goodbye doesn't always mean forever. There
will always be a place and time where questions will be answered, words will
be spoken, letters will be read, poems will be recited in the night, songs
will be sung in harmony, love will be expressed in solitude and promises
will be fulfilled. Somewhere, somehow, someday.
* DEAR LORD, I bring my bleeding heart before You. I feel so empty and
alone. And my strength ebbs to near nothing. I don't know how you'll work in
my life but I trust you. And so I ask for Your healing presence, Lord. Let
me pour out all my hurts and pains to you. Others may sometimes get tired of
me but I know that you'll always listen, understand and care. Give me the
strength to go on, to move forward each day. By Your grace I know I'd be
able to let go of my hurts and disappointments, not in my time but in Your
time. So thank You, Lord, for Your healing presence. Thank You for Your love
that sustains me. And thank You for being here now... understanding and
comforting me |
Living Water
Isaiah 48:21 - And they did not thirst when He led them through the deserts;
He caused the waters to flow from the rocks for them; He also split the
rock, and the waters gushed out. (NKJV)
Last summer, we were in France when the record-breaking heat waves hit the
country. At no other time had plain cold water tasted so good on my tongue
as in those days when we walked under the scorching sun, breathing in hot
humid air. Although I had known about the benefits of eight glasses of water
per day, rarely had I made it a habit. In fact, I had wondered how anyone
could consume that much on a daily basis. However, I couldn't keep count of
the number of bottles of water I emptied down my throat on those days in
France. With my throat parched, if I had been given a choice between a
bottle of Parfum D'Or, a pearl necklace, or a chilled bottle of sparkling
water, I would have wisely lunged for the last. What good is the perfume or
the shining necklace if I do not get the water to quench my thirst? Though
the perfume and the pearls have their glamour and lure, they lack the power
to quench my thirst.
Likewise, what good is money, success, or power for someone at the brink of
death, if he doesn't have assurance of eternal life? The living water, which
Christ offers us, becomes our strength to walk through this life. There are
days when we go through dry seasons -- parched, deserted, and withered, both
emotionally and spiritually. Then there are days when we seem to hit the
wall with no way out, or see no future. It's at such times that we tend to
marvel at the replenishing power of His Word and Spirit as living water.
When the desert sand blinds our vision, and doubts creep in, let us learn to
sing like David, "Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you
disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help
of His countenance." (Psalm 42:5 NKJV)
Prayer: Loving Lord, You are our hope and strength. You've walked us through
hard times and good times. Help us to quieten our souls when fear and
anxiety cross our thoughts. Teach us to sing praises even when the path
ahead looks rocky and deserted. Amen. |