True Strength...

Comes from above...oh but I disagree...it comes from within....

Hear me out this morning...as I sit with hot cup of heaven in anticipation of a blistering day in the sun near a lake of such beauty it stops you in your tracks, I reflect on the teachings from my youth and into adulthood.

I reflect on conversations with those who have fallen from grace, from their personal perspective of 'where is God' in my life? And how do I find my way back?

In a deep conversation in the local grocer with an old friend struggling to find her way back to God, the words that poured from my lips were of love...of grace...of mercy...and more, that 'God was already within her.' She had to look no further than within her own heart, soul, mind and spirit.

The bible speaks of being created in God's image...that He resides within us...

Here is where I continually catch myself looking up in prayer...not a bad thing per se, but unnecessary...God is already in us, each one...waiting quietly for our turning to Him, waiting so patiently for a step in His mighty direction...within.

He walks beside me, He 'leads me beside still waters.'

I close my eyes and know, feel, intuit His presence in my life, continually...

Strength lies within...

Psalm 46:1-3"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging."

He is everywhere all at once...in all we see, all at once...residing within and without...

When we turn our face to God, it is a metaphysical, spiritual turning...when we bow our heads in prayer, we bow to a Creator who loves and lives within each heart.

Here I find my strength...here I find peace...here I find comfort in the direst of life's storms...

In the midst of a violent, psychologically tormenting relationship I felt a rod of steel within, keeping me on my feet when all was falling to the ground around me.

In the midst of fists, knees, hands seeking my demise...here my friends, here is where I found God within...not up, nor above, but within.

On my knees, on my back, on my face crying out in fear...within...

Standing in front of the mirror taking stock in shock of the blood coursing down my face, the bruises littering my entire body...within...

I reached out infinitesimally and there He was, waiting patiently, lovingly, with comfort and a peace completely anathema to the moment.

We find our strength within ourselves...the spirit of a warrior, the soul of a bard, the fighting Irish ancestors genetic makeup rushing to join the fray...complements of a God who never leaves nor forsakes. Within...

Standing alone, oh so alone I thought at the time, shaking in terror and numbness...talk to a survivor and they will tell you this phenomena is a true thing.

Standing alone on a remote shoreline at Kenney Dam hoping, praying for the storm to pass...praying that no one would come along to be killed as he promised...not alone, never alone...an angel of such power stood by my side that day...defeating the enemy after three hours of torment and anguish and fists flying, rocks hefted to end my life...defeated.

I speak on these things to grab your attention, absolutely...not for pity, no...NO! But to educate on the absolute corruption and evil within some...layered over the Creator is a miasma of evil intent so dark, so deep it buries the spirit of the Lord in a pit of revile, a pit of darkness so complete it would take a miracle of mammoth proportions to reveal once again.

I speak on these things to show lost ones that life IS possible again...that LOVE is possible, joy unspeakable and a peace that passes all understanding.

Damages done fall away into faded memory...

Grief and sorrow blown to the far winds, dispersing to appear no more...

Fear no longer exists in the warmth and light of God's heart for each one...

May God light your nights and direct your days no matter what you face...may you know the love of a Father who never leaves your side for He lives within you...holding you close, holding you tight.

Look within dear hearts, dear treasures...there you will find your true strength, your true courage .