Spiritual Things Matter

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. ~Mohandas Gandhi

My heart goes out to all those who have lost so much and are now trying to put the pieces of their lives back together following Hurricane Ike. We now have our power back, but many in the greater Houston area and Galveston, as well as its surrounding areas, still do not. Only now have we been able to really see the devastation caused by Ike.

I live in The Woodlands, Texas, which is about 75 miles north of Galveston. Hurricane Ike did quite a bit of damage in our area even though we are more inland. Our house was not hit by a tree, which was a major concern since we have four large trees in our back yard of which two are huge Pine trees. We also have a large Sweet Gum tree in our front yard which gave me some concern since it is only a few feet from our house. The only thing we lost was our back fence, and some minor damage to our side garden. Neither of which will be difficult to remedy.

We had neighbors that lost so much. One house had five trees that fell on top of it, and the house is beyond repair. Another house, where a woman and daughter decided to sleep in a front room to be more safe, had a tree fall directly into that room. Neither were hurt, but the shock must have been enormous. Trees came down on boats and vehicles. One neighbor just finished remodeling her kitchen when a huge tree fell through the roof and damaged both the kitchen and living room. We saw one house after another damaged, and realized that so many homes were hit with these enormous trees we have in our area. Nature has shown her strength to us, and I am deeply humbled by it.

I was immensely touched and impressed that so many people were in high spirits following the storm. Everyone, including the ones who lost so much, were thankful for their lives and the lives of their loved ones. I saw one sign that read, “Landscaped by Ike,” and another sign that humorously read, “Yard of the Month.” I smiled when I read them because I realized that people somehow kept their sense of humor in the midst of all the destruction and tears. I spoke with many of my neighbors, and most were thankful because they knew it could have been so much worse. Some were not so fortunate. The pain of losing a life is immense. The pain of many who lost literally everything they own is devastating. This will take time to heal and, it will take time to restore things to normal once again.

For years as we walked through the neighborhood streets, I would comment to my husband that I could never understand where all the people are. No one ever was outside. We rarely ever saw people walking along the streets or working in their yards. The shades were always pulled down, and even those who were homemakers or home-schooled their children were nowhere to be seen. This hurricane, as deadly as it was, changed some of that. Our streets and neighborhood came together as we helped each other out. After living in this neighborhood for eleven years, and our current street for six years, I have come to better know our neighbors for the first time. My husband jokingly commented seeing some neighbors down the street for the very first time ever! I realized once again that our post-modern society has truly lost so much. Consumerism has stolen our souls and our connection to each other. I can only pray that the friendships that have been formed and the comradeship that has been fostered among people working together following this hurricane will grow into lasting relationships. My heart is filled with gratitude to have seen the hearts of people as they worked alongside one another, and lifted each other up.

Please pray for all those that need our prayers. Be generous with your prayers since there are many needs to be addressed.

“If you elevate the world around you, then you elevate yourself.” ~Sigmund, Carl and Alfred

Thank you to all my blogger friends whom I have come to cherish, and thank you to all our other friends and family that have prayed for us. I am thankful for each one of you!

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In Your beauty
I see hope
In this hope
I see humanity
In this humanity
I see Your beauty.

In Your beauty
I find peace
In this peace
I find comfort
In this comfort
I find You.

In You
Is profound freedom
In Your freedom
Is vasts amount of space
In that space
All things become possible!

~Viola M. Jaynes

Our world seems to become smaller through technology and, I realize that our need for tolerance toward each other must grow larger. Hate and anger can only bring destruction of the worst imaginable kind. Never shall we forget the day when such anger and hate came to our land. We must remember always - in honor to those who so bravely served…and those, who perished in absolute desperate attempts to survive. We must grow in wisdom and discernment for naivete will only open the door to destruction again.

Perception

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Looking through a grid
built by all of life’s experiences,
I see the world shaded;
somewhat clear here,
not so clear there,
but always through my formed design.

How does life look through
someone else’s framework?
Quite different, I am sure!
Somewhat clear there,
not so clear here,
but always through their very own design.

~Viola M. Jaynes

Love is not blind…it sees more not less. But because it sees more it is willing to see less. ~Julian Weber Gordan

Most people know that the Toastmasters Clubs of America were established for the sole purpose of building leadership skills and strong communication skills in people. Recently, I joined a local chapter, because for years now, I have wanted to do some type of public speaking, but lacked the self-confidence to pursue that dream. After having written articles for my site for over two years, I have come to realize, that now more than ever before, the time has come to sharpen and strengthen my own abilities to communicate effectively, as well as build my personal confidence.

The clubs hold a contest about twice a year and last Thursday was one of those times. An e-mail had been sent out to inform the members that another Table Topic contestant was needed. After a bit of hesitation, I answered that call. Having already participated in the regular meetings for less than a month, I knew that a person would be chosen to answer a random question and given one to two minutes to provide an answer. In my first attempt, I got emotional and went under one minute which disqualified me. When I was called on for a second time, I did fine. The third time around, I froze and could not think of a single clear or coherent thing to say. When the invitation was offered for this contest, I jumped at the chance to face my own fears that had lingered so long in my mind and life. With a big smile, I proudly accepted the Second Place Trophy!

Our topic question for that day was: “If you could have any job in the world, what would it be and why? I was relieved when I heard this question because I did not even have to give it a second thought. “I would chose to be a healer, I answered. Not a healer of men’s bodies, but a healer of men’s hearts.”

I only had a few minutes to speak but after I came home, I wanted to expound on what I would have said if that would have been a full-fledged speech:

A Healer Of Hearts

If I were a healer of men’s hearts, I would pierce through the walls of the pain and mistrust that have been erected and would temporarily move them aside to reveal , that men can become their own healers. I would attempt to show them, with sheer tenderness, understanding, and love that which they never dreamed possible for their lives. They could then begin to discover a wealth of potential that lies within their own hearts. Then and only then will they come to realize that anger and blaming others for their perceived misfortunes, have only deepened their pain and hardened their own hearts. They would then begin to heal themselves.

If I was a healer of men’s hearts, I would bring clarity to their understanding. They would realize that those who have abused them and hurt them in any way, were in fact, bruised and hurt by someone else and their abusers were also in need of healing. Through this realization, they would be willing to forgive and release their resentments and bitterness which would bring about their own gift and ability to show mercy and love.

As a healer of men’s hearts, I would compassionately embrace those that felt cheated as a child. Those whose mother’s had not properly provided for them or perhaps even forsaken them. I would embrace those whose fathers were never there or perhaps had been too harsh in his disciplining methods. With great tenderness I would embrace all those who felt alone and never felt supported as a child, feeling that a hole has been left in their hearts which could never be filled. I would embrace them all, and I would embrace their parents, gently whispering into all their hearts, “Your parents did the only thing they knew to do. Forgive them and be healed!”

If I were a healer of men’s hearts, I would enter the prison walls and mental institutes and bring hope again to those that have been condemned by society. A hope that would bring freedom once again. Even within its closed walls, a heart that has been made whole and has been restored can find meaning and purpose in some way.

Perhaps each of us can be healers of men’s hearts. Through compassion and tenderness, through love and understanding, through humility and forgiveness, we can heal ourselves and touch the aching hearts of those around us.