...holes...

...in my last blog, I mentioned that I felt like a man in a hole, who, try as he might, couldn't get out.... I said that I figured that there were two choices... asking Jesus to help me "appreciate the hole" or doing what I've always done, bury my pain and "move on"... but Jesus had another alternative in store when I turned to him... one I had never expected or experienced before... I could stay in the hole and try to "appreciate" it, [ " in all things give thanks..."], I could even bury my pain in it and try to "move on"...[ not easy, down there in that hole...] or, I could look around, outside my hole and find that Jesus had sent some fellow travelers to help me .... who without a thought for themselves, jumped right into the hole with me... at first, I was concerned that in trying to help me out of the hole, they had trapped themselves in something unpleasant, but they persisted because they had been in the hole before and they knew the way out that I couldn't have found alone...
....you spend years "questing"...for truth, love, acceptance, the hearts you can connect with,.... and when you run out of your own resources, you turn to God... and if you are like most of us, you have a "list"... what you want, what you'll settle for... and so forth...
....you want to be loved ...."no matter what or who you are"......God will do that... most people don't... most will love you for who you are for them... a lover, soulmate, helper, enabler... the list is long...how do they feel about themselves when they are around you ? are you the doer of all chores, a servant, the fantasy playmate, the ideal mate, "trophy wife or husband" ...football star, cheerleader ? do you fit the criteria they have for someone they want to be seen with...be a partner with ? how do you look, what groups do you belong to, are you one of "them" or are you one of "those people" ? diversity or eccentricity can be daunting things if "fitting in" or "what others think" is important to you...
.... when you find fellow travelers who can learn the worst about you and honestly say that it makes no difference to them and accept you, as you are, offering their love and friendship, you are consorting with those who know Jesus well....
.....when helping a friend takes precedence over helping yourself or personal comfort, the world is a better place....
.... when someone can open their heart, mind and arms to you, over and over, in His love, you are blessed indeed....and you have begun, with their help, to fill-up that hole, so you won't ever again fall back in it.... and Jesus smiles...