Send Me a Sign!

Larry:
I find myself more and more on the mat too, trying to keep Him down for the ref's count. And this in spite of the docs telling my family memers and myself that it was a miracle I didm't die from my stroke, that medically speaking it should have shut down my respiratory system! guess I'm a pig where miracles and signs are concerned. Of course, I hadn't asked for a miracle at that time either, so perhaps I wasn't prepared to see it as one!

In spite of my life I'm a doubtful Thomas. Many things have happened to me out of the blue that should be proof enough for me, but that i manage to forget. Like being 'lifted' out of a place before horrific violence descended. Once, while living in Kansas a tornado approached the rickety houses of the neighborhood where I was living in. I had the 'presence' of mind to get my dogs into the car, no purse, no coats, nothing, and drive away. I found myself in the middle of the interstate and had to pull to the side of the road 'cause the rain was so intense there was zero visibility. Twice I felt the urge to continue driving on the shoulder, and twice a little voice in the back of my mind said "WAIT". I must have been in there for about 20' though it seemed like 2 hours, even the dogs were too terrified to even move. Finally the rain stopped like if an unseen hand closed a giant tap and I realized that I was parked, sandwiched between two semis! Had I tried to back up or drive forward I would have been crushed, and I still marvel that the one behind me didn't even touch my back bumper.
The realization of having been placed in a bubble and held in God's palm was so overwhelming that I began to shake and couldn't start the car to drive home. BTW the tornado changed courses about a block away from my house and didn't cause any damages to anyone.

The unfolding of My Life's Story contains the following chapters:

Widowed Twice
Lost Three Children
Cancer
Anxiety/Panic Attacks
Depression
( Doesn't make for a great Personal Ad for all those people who like to "take long walks on the Beach. Which, for the record, when I do, I never see them; but that's another story for another day.)

IMHO, God does not cause our misfortunes. Some are caused by bad luck. Some are caused by bad people. Others are simply an inevitable consequence of being human and being mortal, ( I.E. DNA E.G. Cancer, Bi-polar, Mental Retardation.. ) living in a world of inflexible natural laws.

But, they are not "punishment," and there is no "grand design" for our suffering.
There is no reason people for to be afflicted rather than others. These events do not reflect God's choices. They happen at random.

In short; man is free and the laws of the Universe are fixed,
It rains on the righteous and the unrighteous.

There are somethings God does not control. For me this news is not necessarily all bad. Because I can turn to God "for help in overcoming it, precisely because I know that God as outraged by it as I am."

Through prayer, God showed me I had choices. I could give my 'tragedy's" a meaning.

So:

I have chosen to redeem them from meaningless by imposing my meaning on them. I have chosen to forgive the world for not being perfect; to forgive God
for not making a better world, to reach out to the people around me, and go on living despite it all.

There is also a "peace of relief," because I can worship a God who hates suffering but cannot eliminate it, more easily than I can worship a God who chooses to make children suffer and die, for whatever exalted reason.

I do not profess to know the answer, Larry.

What I do know is:

If a man is pierced by a poisoned arrow if he insists, before receiving medical treatment; on knowing who shot the arrow, and of what clan he is, what kind of bow he was using, what the bow string and the shaft of the arrow were made, from what kind of bird the feathers on the arrow came, he will die before his thirst for knowledge is satisfied.

Likewise, if we distract ourselves from our *spiritual path by trying to settle these cosmological and metaphysical issues, we may fail to be healed.

The unanswered questions are legitimate questions to which there are true answers, but to which we do not in fact know the answers. It is not excluded, in logic, that humans might some day come to know the truth of these matters.

But, it would still be the case that your purpose in life neither depends on nor is assisted by such knowledge.

These are the matters which, in St. Paul's words, "No eyes has seen, Nor ear heard, nor the the heart of man conceived." ( 1 Corinthians 2:9). It seems appropriate to refer to these unanswerable questions as mysteries; matters that are beyond human comprehension and expression. And to feel we must hold an answer concerning them is counterproductive.

For Me.. to know the answers to such questions is not necessary and to treat is as though they were would only hinder my advance towards Life's Purpose: Giving, Loving and Serving in some capacity.

PS:
I do, however, hope to know someday, what is at the end of space!!
But not in the near future. :-)

Valentine:

Fair enough.

Part of the reason I am a doubting Thomas on these matters is not just that they are lessons so hard to learn, but that they are so hard even to ACCEPT.

Even if that's all G-d ultimately asks of us.

I don't have to think very hard.

"No" is the answer. (Though I think "yes" would be the answer for a lot of other people, and not in a good way.)

I hesitated to write the following Epilogue respectfully and with humility because I know the discussion of religion are intensely personal....

IMHO:

Generally speaking all religions have in common the following:

1.That "God" exists, that man's allegiance belongs to "God."

2. Some version of "The Golden Rule."

3. A moral code of right and wrong.

4. A detailed system of ethics and a world view which each person can relate themselves to others and to the world and can understand his own significance.

5. A set of writings considered to be inspired, that support their faith and practice.

6. All regards man's self-centendness to be the source of his troubles.

All great religions have done service to humanity. It is the foundation to help us reach further for our own personal morals. We cannot blame religion for man's behavior.

IF you're answer's to the above two questions were different; as mine were; I'd like to look at the most overlooked and forgotten one: # 6.

Man is a social being and develops his character in relation to the society in which he belongs, so whatever he does, leaves its impression not only on himself but also on that society.

The elementary rules of conduct is self-discipline. We must learn how to live as harmless and gentle human beings. How to live without disturbing the peace and happiness of others. It means the rights of others to exist. If we believe the world was created solely for our own beliefs then we take from it whatever we want indiscriminately without caring what happens to other living beings and the environment. A moral person has a clear respect and concern for the well-being of every other being on the planet.

Morals need to be based on the humanistic values of love, compassion and serving others. These are qualities for maintaining peace and happiness.

If you believe that a supreme being is going to punish you if you misbehave, it is like being permanently threatened into behaving. In addition, if you believe there is some good, great reward for behaving well, then your motive for good behavior are potentially selfish.

We must train our minds not to do harmful things.The motivation for upholding this precepts is NOT the fear of punishment or reward, but understanding that they are morally wrong.

Carl Jung said:

" Your vision will be become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens."

Look within and find what you seek from without.... and continually give that away to others.

Then, while you are living in this world you can experience heavenly bliss. * But, there is no finish line to be crossed. It is gradual and never ending.

And, speaking from personal experience, my two answers are closer today than when I began.

* You weren't really expecting me to say they were a perfect match, were you? :-)

A few moments later, and releasing http://toazter.ch/blog/index.php?blogId=23 >lucy pinder topless her body. Her mouth. Leigh andpushed open the.