Looking Upward, Not Inward

Hang In There

When your world is turned upside down, hang in there. Hold fast to what you know is true. My scuba diving instructor used to tell me, if you ever get knocked silly by some waves, don't panic. Follow the bubbles, because they always lead to the surface. Otherwise you might swim to the ocean floor. Flight instructors will say something similar - trust your instruments, not your own senses. But my life needs more than bubbles and instruments to guide me in times of peril.

For guidance in these times of peril, it is best to go to the one that designed me.

Non-Negotiable

What are your non-negotiables? I knew a man who once said, "Everything I have is for sale, except my wife and kids."

Don't sell out! I left the rat race many years ago. But through ignorance and good intentions, I was drawn back in, denying that I was being drawn in all the way.

I've been granted passage to the kingdom and told to leave my baggage behind. An alliance has been forged and I must hold fast to Truth which is eternal. But my ally will not allow any encumberances. When hinderances are stripped away, the pain is not in the loss of those things that hinder me. The pain arises from those persons closest to me that do not understand why these things are happening. The blame game starts, the words "sin" and "lack of faith" get tossed about, questions of intergrity, responsibility, and caring get asked.

Again, what are your non-negotiables? What are you willing to lose - to gain?

Reverse Order

I've tried to do things my own way
and I've tried to do what people say
and I'm going nowhere fast
and I'm turning to you at last

- excerpt from
What Do You Want Me To Do? by Mike Scott

Refuge

Only one will do. If you venture beyond, beware of decoys!

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