Real Love

I was at Mass this morning when an elderly couple sat behind me.  I noticed how caring the husband was for his wife.  He asked her for his glasses from her pocketbook.  She evidently looked into the wrong place because he gently told her, “No babe, that’s not where you put it”.  I don’t know what she was going through.  It could be some type of absent-mindedness, dementia, Alzheimer’s or whatever.  It doesn’t matter.  It was the loving way that he talked to her and treated her that made me think about real love.  Like the Bible said, “Love is patient, love is kind, etc”.  It talks of love persevering and everlasting.  I saw a wonderful display of this kind of love.  I don’t know what they were like when they were younger but it’s what I see now.  And from what I’ve seen and heard they have the real thing.  The problem with this generation is that we don’t have the patience, understanding, and perseverance in our relationships.  It’s easier to give up than work things out.  Relationships are like trees, they require a lot of care after the seedlings are planted, but the ground has to be fertile and fit enough for them to gestate.  Then, a lot of tender loving care is necessary.  Once the trees take root, they get stronger, the roots get deeper and the limbs stretch out.  But storms and bad weather come and test their perseverance and fortitude. It is disappointing that only a few relationships are able to survive the onslaught of gossip, hearsay, distrust, betrayal, and accusations.  Even through all of this, many couples remain together because the public perception would be that another relationship failed.  They are miserable but stay together because some people are more concerned about what others say than their mates.

I Believe - James Fortune & Others

Whatever Valley You’re In, God Is Up To Something!

I overslept this morning and missed Mass this past Sunday.  I usually feel remorse when this happens but I was just tired discombobulated that morning.  But I wanted to give God some time so instead of going to church, I brought church to me by listening to T.D. Jakes, Joel Osteen and for the very first time, Dr. Charles Stanley.  I truly believed that sermon was meant for me to listen to.  Yes, it was my first time giving Dr. Stanley any attention, I did try before some time back but his approach didn’t grab me.  I don’t know, maybe it just wasn’t what I wanted to hear.  I like Joyce Myers, too.  I think this time with Dr. Stanley, I felt a very personal approach, especially, his explanation about how he felt when he lost his mother.  There are so many people that have shared some time in the valley for so many reasons.  But what impressed me most about Dr. Stanley was his explanation on why we were in the valleys.  Here are Dr. Stanley’s four points dealing with valleys.  1) Surrender your life to God. 2) Believe that the valley experience will work for our good.  3) Rest in God.  4) Thank God for bringing you through the valley.  God takes us to another mountain.  To give a testimony don’t we have to go through a test?  Another important tenet is what did we learn?  We have to go through the valleys to get to another mountain.  God is leading us to better things.  We can’t understand the preparation but our Shepherd won’t lead us astray.  All we need to do is follow Him and strengthen our relationship with God.  The Good Shepherd takes care of His sheep because He loves us and only wants the best for us.  The same thing a loving and caring father would do.  The valleys are opportunities for us to establish a relationship with God.  At the time we don’t see it.  All we see are the problems and our focus is more on why is this happening to us and our loved ones.  How can we think we are heading to another mountain when all we see are major concerns?  The Lord is our Shepherd (23^rd Psalm).  David knew what was going on.  In his valleys he still cried out to God for help and forgiveness.  But despite what David was going through, he did not take his focus on how merciful and loving God is.  The 23^rd Psalm is a very powerful prayer, a prayer said more times in sorrow than joy.  Yet, it is a joyous prayer stating that our needs are met and that we have nothing to fear because God is always with us.  “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever”.  How faithful was David?  How faithful can we be?

Lord, I Am Not Worthy … (Matthew 5:13)

Yes, Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.  Restore in me the faith that I lost believing in myself.  You believed in me when nobody else did.  It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks, it’s what I do that is pleasing in your sight.  They don’t know what I’ve been through or going through.  They judge me and don’t know me.  But You knew me before I was born and You knew the purpose that I was created for.  Strengthen me with wisdom and understanding, Lord, so that I can share the blessings with others.  Make me an instrument of Your Will to direct my voice to say the right words guiding my brothers and sisters in the direction You want us to go.  We all have lost direction from so many trials and tribulations that seem to surround us.  We lost our stability when we lost sight of you and the waves of despair and hopelessness toss us about.  My friends and family mock me because I chose to follow you.  And as a result, I have lost them.  I never renounced them or criticized their ways because who am I to judge?  We are all weak and stumble through this maze called life.  The people we loved are no longer with us, you have taken them home to be with You.  There is emptiness left in our hearts along with the memories they left behind.  Your servant David was a man after Your heart.  David was an imperfect man, a man that stumbled and fell, but he kept You first.  David and so many others who did Your Will are examples for all us to follow as men who are imperfect but want to do the right thing in Your sight, Lord.  But, didn’t Your Son, Jesus, select imperfect men to be His Apostles?  They were examples for all us to follow.  They changed their ways and so can we.  It’s not easy doing to right thing.  The ways of the world can choke us like thorns. Maybe, it’s not really life or its difficulties we have the problems with.  Maybe, the problem is dealing with ourselves and the choices we make.  Lord, I will not renounce my love for You and I am thankful for Your many blessings.

“Your Past and Your Future Can Not Coexist!”



The Future is Bright and Indescribable!



Read it again, now say it slow, and let it soak.  “Your Past and Your Future Can Not Coexist!”  Think about it.  Reverend Colley, a confidant, God’s soldier, told me this yesterday.  In one of his sermons, he told his congregation that 2011 is empty.  It’s up to us how we fill it.  We can’t look back at last year and think that if we continue the same things we did that they’ll somehow change this year.  We can learn from the past, if we choose to gain experience, knowledge and wisdom from it.  This can shape us in a positive, productive way.  But our past and future cannot exist side by side on the same plane.  They must remain separate.  Visions and dreams of the future are learned from the past but in order to go forward we must look ahead.  Try walking backwards.  You will always see where you’ve been but you don’t have a clue to where you going.  In fact, you just might back into something you didn’t mean to which could be a major problem.  Has any of this sunk in yet?  If you had a bad relationship with someone, do you carry the baggage to a new one?  If you do, what usually happens?  That relationship ends most likely like the previous one.  But, if you had a bad experience with a vendor but the company is now under new management, would you return because you have seen that the services are now more customer-related and superb?  Yes, the past was an experience but you learned from it.  We all go through something.  None of us are exempt from having problems, trials and tribulations are a part of living.  But having God by our side, we can turn and face forward to deal with the concerns of today.  Why worry about tomorrow when we don’t have any control over today.  We can only hope and pray that God’s blessings will always be with us.  I think it’s good to know where you've been but better to strive for improvement in the future.  The choice is yours!

MLK Birthday!

Tomorrow the nation, states and some communities will celebrate the birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King.  He died for what he believed in which were equality and peace.  Just recently we have seen the opposite actions from how our fellow Americans feel towards each other depending on classes and political affiliations.  Acts of terror and soon to be harmful legislation will be enacted by the ruling party in charge.  If we expect much change, we should accept what we get if we don't participate in the voting process.  Dr. King wasn't a perfect man but name me any man that was.  We all have an obligation to stand up for what is right.  This includes our youth, who seems more preoccupied dealing with texting and anything other than current events that will affect them presently and in the future.  Let us all take lessons from this man who believed in peace towards each other, not in violent actions that we have experienced already.  Happy Birthday, Dr. King.  May your Dream never be denied.

Pessimism – The Butt-End of Optimism!

We’re not comparing the half-empty glass, the grass is always greener on the other side, so on and etc.  We’re talking about the cliché “When the going gets rough, the tough get going!”  In other words, dear friends, things are rough but they could always be rougher.  During trying times we regain our faith after we lost it when everything was going well.  We didn’t need or appreciate the blessings we were getting from the Lord because we actually thought we were in control.  Sometimes many of are just the opposite about losing our faith during trying times.  But, it doesn’t matter, we remain inconsistent.  When love was going our way we were happy with the world when we can’t keep it we blame the other for the disconnection.  It’s no wonder why some people rather remain single for the rest of their lives.  But, the question is; Are they Optimistic or Pessimistic?  Do they believe in love after being broken hearted?  I know I didn’t.  The feel for just being around that someone special may not return a mutual appreciation.  We fall head over heels and think that they are that special one in our lives.  We write them, poetry, send flowers, invitations to do things together, profess our love and loyalty but we barely get a moment of their time.  We wind up disappointed and discouraged but we can still choose be an pessimistic ass; or be optimistic with a positive attitude learning from experiences.  I think that life is short and not to always wait until later to tell someone how you feel.  But that’s my thoughts.  There will always be people that will not treat you right.  You need to think if you are in that same category.  It’s not easy being optimistic, the same as living in faith.  We just have to keep trying even when we stumble along the way.  Recognize your blessings!  What is meant for you, no man can take it away.  And if it wasn’t meant for, stay up, it could have been worse!