Storm Before the Calm

 

Thursday morning, October 29, 2020, my eyes flew open at 4:15 a.m. to what sounded like buckets of water being violently tossed against the window. 

Hurricane Zeta had arrived in Georgia. 

During the four plus hours of cringing at every roaring noise, at each blow that assaulted our house, we sat tense, lights flickering now and again, expecting we would lose internet as well as electricity. We gratefully acknowledged being able to have our hot coffee, knowing some would not have the luxury. 

Unlike thousands of others, we didn’t lose our connection to the rest of the world. Here it is Friday afternoon and there are still many who have not yet had their power restored. The ramifications will be ongoing.

Yesterday, when the worst had passed, I ventured out onto the property and was not shocked to see huge limbs, leaves and debris everywhere. One tree down, fortunately, not in a critical place. Our neighbor’s barn lost some tin roof. We had an old clock up on the wall on the upper deck that had blown off and left glass shards everywhere. All in all we were spared. We are grateful. 

We seem to have been conditioned in the last ten months to take catastrophe in stride.

Perhaps because, here in 2020, as we all have had to deal with what has been recognized as the most bizarre, challenging year in modern history, and as we head toward the presidential election, we are practiced at taking stock. We calmly assess the damage, we count our blessings, even as we brace for the great unknown as this year leaves behind many things that will need repair. 

This morning, as I pondered all that has happened this year, now punctuated with a huge storm, like a swift kick to one who is already down, I had a sobering thought. If Trump wins, everyone wins. We get a shot at trying to keep our nation free for at least 4 more years. Even those who are determined to destroy it with their woke self-righteous agendas will be able to do and say as they please, freely. If Biden wins, only those who are determined to dismantle this country will win. And even they will lose eventually because that is the history of socialism. It never works. Only the few in power get to benefit. 

I have read comments elsewhere from those who feel that 'church' should not get involved in politics and I don't disagree. But this time, the issue is not about politics. It's about standing up to the dark principalities that are seeking to destroy us. If we do not recognize that satan is using politics to finally overpower everything that a free, moral, God-fearing nation stands for, then we don't understand what is actually happening. God have mercy.

For Him,

Meema

I close with a link to a sermon/speech that anyone who is not afraid to know the truth will be willing to spend 32 minutes watching. 

Do It Anyway

 

Right now, here in this trying year of 2020,  I think this is an extremely important topic for the sake of mental health.

FWIW, I’ve never considered myself to be a professional anything. Back in my not-yet-retired years I had to have four different resumes. Who cares? What I am and always have been, at my core,  is a doer, a try-er, a get-er-doner. Over my lifetime I’ve come to see a new project as a challenge, a call to attempt to make something from nothing and usually with the most primitive tools possible. 

Rascal that I am, at this stage, it’s my way of thumbing my 73 year old nose at the critics who say it cannot be done to those who are, in fact, doing it. 

The point:  I started a project in August. The lyrics came easy and then I had to put the words to music with my ukulele, a bit more difficult. Uncharacteristically, by September, I had allowed myself be discouraged by all the bad news coming out 24/7 and I stopped trying. I gave up. I told myself it didn’t matter anymore. What was the point? 

Then I read someone’s post in the Dave Rubins’ forum. She said, take a break. That wake up call hit my heart and I started working on my song again and then I made a video. I know it isn’t perfect by any/every acceptable standard but the truth is, what really matters can’t be heard or seen by anyone else anyway. The doing of it, the finishing, using my low tech tools, my less than professional skills, restored my ‘do it anyway’ attitude. For now.

How significant is that, in the big picture?

If nothing else, maybe this will encourage someone else to dive in, to seek to create something from nothing, fearlessly. 

That something having being held off because  _____ fill in the blank.

Note: I am not a professional singer/songwriter/videographer, (though I did stay at a Holiday Inn once). I’m just Meema and if I can make something from nothing, anyone can. :-)

For Him,

Meema

The Project: A Little More Time

Click on the image for the video

The Art of Being Acceptable

She confided that she struggled most of her younger life with self-doubt and low self-esteem. She couldn’t explain it other than she was simply constructed that way. She had no blame shift to point to her upbringing or any particular traumatic experience in her childhood. It was simply who and what she was - not quite good enough.

I understood this but it was an interesting revelation because she always seemed to be so well put together, knowledgable and confident. Shows to go you that we can’t always know what’s going on inside someone else.

She said her life long coping skill, that she created for herself, was to stop wondering if she had any worth or whether anyone else thought she had value and just simply be true to herself and God. She quoted Shakespeare “To thine own self be true… .”

She chose to be what she was to the best of her ability and if she did not meet someone else’s expectations of her, she chose to accept that there was nothing she could do about it so she never allowed that condition to stop her or make her want to quit. 

She seemed warmed up to the possibility she could speak freely at last and cited multiple incidents in her life where she had given her all to something only to either get no response or a passing criticism. Over and over, regardless the disappointments, she pulled herself up and kept moving, never feeling as though there was anywhere she could ever fit or be accepted. It was her normal to feel as though she was a non-person, invisible. 

But not irrelevant.

One day, in her early mid-life, she discovered a backdoor, a way into the inter-sanctum state of being ‘acceptable’. From then on it was her great big secret that she shared with God. Every time she applied her new technique, she experienced an unexpected kind of satisfaction that was far better than getting recognized by the mindless mob. Plus she admitted it gave her a one up better view of how fickle and hypocritical the mindless mob can be. Popularity and recognition is not always as advertised.

I asked if she was willing to share her secret. She smiled, then looked to the side as though she was weighing the risks. Finally she responded somewhat conspiratorially, “I live under the radar. I create with no limits or boundaries and then let someone else have the credit then I sit back and see how others respond. If there are cheers I can secretly bask in the glow. If there are crickets or complaints, I look for ways to improve.” 

Then she added, “I finally figured out that pleasing God is way more important than seeking approval from humans anyway. I believe, with much gratitude, that He chose to hide me so I could move about freely and unseen to be and do His will. I don’t need to be acceptable to the world to get His work done. It has always been an amazing experience for me to see the ongoing positive impact of the smallest act of obedience. Like a stone tossed in a still pond that sends ripples to the other side. In fact, at this point, if I was ever to be noticed by the world I’d wonder what I was doing wrong.”

Duly noted.

For Him,

Meema