Phil,
That's pretty heavy. I'm going to have to read this again and think about
it and pray about it.
You write such inspireational articles.
Lovingly,
Pat Ferguson
At 08:39 PM 4/17/04, you wrote:
> Recently I was praying with a lady who is going through some
>unbelievable stressful things in her life. Everything seems
>impossible. She is a Christian, lives alone, and is also blind.
>
> Although we have prayed several times together, she went for
>a period of time not calling or asking to pray because she felt
>bad about not having anything to pay me. Of course, I have never
>asked her for any money, because I make no financial
>requirements, and she knows that. Yet she felt uncomfortable
>about it anyhow.
>
> Circumstances have become so unreasonable and numerous and so
>complicated, it has created an attitude of hopelessness and
>impossibility at times for her. When she described some of the
>situations to me, I pointed out these current experiences were
>acting as trigger points and tapping into the real woundedness
>that was causing the feelings now. I explained how the current
>emotions were part of earlier events which had woundedness, or
>lies, implanted in them which needed to be exposed by the Lord and
>removed by hearing His Word. Then, once those areas were
>eliminated, that is, the implanted lies, she would not react in
>the same way.
>
> In this case, she experienced extreme and intense anger over
>something someone said in relationship to her blindness. She said
>she could not understand how this current experience could have
>anything to do with something in the past and besides, she said,
>"I thought I was over those sorts of feelings related to my
>blindness anyhow." so I used the following example to get her to
>see how, what had recently happened, caused such an unrestrained
>response.
>
> Let's say, you have a lady that has been your best friend for
>years and this lady was sighted. You did everything together.
>You went out to eat, you shopped together, she read your mail, ran
>errands for you, made bank deposits for you, wrote checks, dropped
>things off at the post office whenever you asked, and you just
>enjoyed each other as best friends. Over the years, you actually
>become somewhat dependant on such a person because they can see
>and you were such good friends, you could trust her reading
>private mail, filling out applications, taking you to doctor's
>appointments, and many other personal things you would find more
>difficult with a person you just know, say from church or a family
>member, for example.
>
> Over the years, this relationship becomes very strong and you
>both have become somewhat dependent upon each other because such
>is the nature of any friendship. However, one day your friend
>unexpectedly dies. This has, of course, a profound effect upon
>you in many ways. First, because your best friend has suddenly
>died and your heart is filled with grief and sorrow.
>Additionally, all the things you used to try and get different
>people to do in assisting you, was being handled by your best
>friend for years, and now you suddenly have no help. You are
>slammed hard back into the reality of your blindness due to your
>friend's sudden passing away. Now, not only are you grieving the
>loss of your best friend, but you are back to square one and
>forced to call upon others to do the personal things that was so
>conveniently handled by your friend. Things, which had
>disappeared, as far as problems, or what some prefer to call
>inconveniences, which were related to your blindness, are now back
>in full force and, in fact, it feels worse than ever before. Why?
>By now we should be adjusted and matured in this area of life.
>After all, it has been this way most of your life. Right? So why
>are you being so blind all of the sudden?
>
> As the weeks and months pass, the frustration of trying to
>find others to assist in reading mail, running errands, and a
>dozen other things your friend used to always help do, becomes
>acute. It was wonderful to have almost forgotten your blindness
>during those years. Now, you seem to get mad easier. Plus, you
>now realize just how much you hated shopping alone and depending
>on store clerks to help you decide what clothes to buy. Your
>mail becomes a curse. Writing checks, paying bills, and filling
>out forms, is driving you crazy because you just cannot find
>anybody that was as dependable as your friend. Occasionally, you
>respond a little too harshly, out of frustration, and once again,
>people are accusing you of being too sensitive. Oh, how you wish
>your friend was still alive. She never accused you of ever being
>too sensitive once. The frustration of just living every day life
>as a blind person seems to become sharper, and more painful, the
>older you get.
>
> Finally, one day, somebody crosses the line and makes a
>comment that always bothered you before as a blind person but one
>which you always handled with grace. Somehow, this time, it
>feels like a violent attack and you lash out, losing your temper,
>and slamming down the phone, you sit and cry until you can't cry
>any more. "If I just wasn't blind, I could do these things
>myself," is heard in your thoughts once again. The loss of your
>friend is like a dam burst and your emotions are suddenly flooded
>to the breaking point.
>
> Now, stop and let everything I just described, sink in. If
>you aren't blind, you may not be able to identify with all I have
>suggested but you can grasp the concept. If you are sighted,
>transfer that concept to your own personal life and look at it
>from wherever you are in life. Perhaps you have some other
>disability. Maybe you have lost a child or a husband or wife and
>the grief still returns again and again. Perhaps you lost a
>business and now can't even live from paycheck to paycheck any
>longer. Perhaps you are single and all your life you have desired
>someone with which to share your life. It makes no difference how
>you relate to this story but I encourage you to put yourself into
>this hypothetical story in whatever way fits your own life and
>then continue reading.
>
> In my illustrated story, a blind woman loses her best friend
>due to sudden death. Now, the story instantly changes. Her
>sighted friend isn't really dead any more. There's no
>explanation; she is just suddenly alive again. How would you feel
>if you were the blind person in this story? What would happen to
>all the frustration, the anger, the feeling of helplessness or
>dependency? What would happen to the strong feeling of blindness
>that had just been there moments before? Your friend is suddenly
>back. You know everything is back to the way it used to be. So
>what would happen to all the negative things you had just been
>feeling a moment before your friend came back? That's right;
>everything would stop and disappear. Relief, joy and a sense of
>freedom and liberty would come rushing back and everything that
>was bad would suddenly be ok and no longer able to effect you
>adversely.
>
> This is how Jesus the Healer works when He renews the mind in
>areas of woundedness. When the original source of the pain is
>located, and any lies or misconceptions renewed or healed, His
>Word, which is the only thing that counts because it is the only
>thing that is true, begins to work and live in you. Furthermore,
>you suddenly and wonderfully become a partaker of His divine
>nature through His exceeding great and precious promises, (2 Peter
>1:3-4).
>
> In my hypothetical story, your friend afforded you life in a
>way never experienced before. When that part of your life was
>blocked out, old things became rushing back in and you began to
>experience the pain you always new was their. When your friend
>suddenly returned, all, I repeat, all was made new again and you
>were free. So it is with God and His healing power through the
>renewing of the mind.
>
> The most common question I hear is, "I thought all this was
>done at the cross. Wasn't it?" If so, why do you respond
>adversely to certain circumstances? Why does the anger suddenly
>come rushing to the surface? Where does that fear come from you
>still have as a Christian? If God has forgiven us, then why do
>we sometimes feel shame or guilt over something that happened
>years ago? In fact, why do we find ourselves asking for God to
>forgive us for the same thing many times over the years? Could it
>perhaps be we are believing a lie and that our friend really isn't
>dead after all? Stop and think about it.
>
>
>I Flew Kites With Jesus
>www.SafePlaceFellowship.com
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