Seek Out Your Pathway To Peace
The Cultivation of My Soul
Soiled from the shame of past events, I find myself in a shallow grave. To claw my way to the surface, I have to scour my past, leaving no stone left unturned. In the darkness, the pit of despair is where I will find my secrets. As I reap what I sow, His light shines down upon me.
Come closer…I will share the nature of my wrongs, unearthing the weedy growth of my life. Not too close…for you will get tangled in my vine of deceit. If you allow me to creep into your life, my touch will cause a painful rash to fester.
The roots of my pain are so firmly planted. I am a wilted flower, dried out by my bitterness. The drought is caused by years of neglecting my soul. The soil in my soul is rocky, developing a powerful thirst.
The flow of His Holy Water will irrigate my soul so I can weed out my past. Calling out to God, I ask Him to remove my shortcomings. He lifts me out of the mud and mire. Finally, I am able to break free of the bondage of self, allowing my flower to blossom.
Don’t be left in the dark, follow the light.
There are times I find myself wallowing in my sorrow. Usually it is very short lived because my sorrow is not a good place to be. It is a very dark, lonely place and following my first world problems it is in my sorrow where I feel sorry for myself.
Once I acknowledge my feelings and place my life in proper perspective I allow His light to reset my mood for the day. Through prayer and a positive attitude I usually am given a sign, a glimmer of hope. But each new day presents a fresh set of challenges. So each day I give myself grace and follow the light, my pathway to peace.
I am fortunate because even though I got lost in a dark place I was given a way out. The path led me directly to a bright new life, but tomorrow is a new day and unless I remain faithful I am subject to getting lost in the dark all over again. While there are others who have found themselves in the dark with no hope to escape, I want to assure these friends just as the darkness creeps in, if you allow His light in it will lead you out.
Don’t be left in the dark, digging deep to get out.
When I meet with others who are battling the dark demons from their past I offer them grace, because oftentimes we go through life with our past so deeply entrenched in our being it cripples us from meeting our full potential. Many of us have no idea the roots of our pain. Sometimes our past even has a past. To really understand the root of our pain at times we need to dig deep. And for many this can be very painful. As compassionate human beings we need to offer grace to those who wrestle with their demons.
To really understand the root of our pain at times we need to dig deep.
Karen Esbenshade
Don’t be left in the dark, it’s a scary place.
Thrashing around in the dark is where we will find our scary character traits. To heal we need to shine a light and illuminate our flaws simmering just below the surface. Traits which like to hide in the dark are wrath, lust, and slothfulness. If these traits go left untreated they will bring us resentment, shame, and depression.
Wrath
Anger and stern indignation hardens our hearts. Building resentment over past events keep us from our full compassionate potential. It creates self-seeking personality traits, allowing us to play the victim. We retaliate and act out of vengeance. Our past hurts need exposed so we do not harbor resentment.
Lust
A sinful longing created by the desires of our unhealthy heart keep us from having healthy relationships. Lust goes hand in hand with possession and greed. Coveting what is not ours to have, like when a man makes an advance on a married woman and the woman finds pleasure in being desired. Shame will be the result in these behaviors. Lust can be conquered when a marriage is built on a strong foundation.
Sloth
Laziness keeping us from advancing, being the person God has intended for us to be. Alcohol had a way of sucking up my precious time. Alcohol is a depressant, offering a temporary fix to alleviate our worldly woes. Further sinking those into the depths of depression. As believers we all have been gifted with unique blessings and it is are responsibility to use our gifts, yielding to God with our God given purpose.
Don’t be left in the dark when there is a beautiful life within reach.
During the dark times of adversity our hope will keep us spiritually alive. Allowing the light to creep in will illuminate what we want to keep hidden. And once we shed light on our past we are able to heal and then we can look towards our future. The darkest of times will offer light. It only takes a sliver of light towards a path for healing.
Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me will, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”
John 8:12 NLT
- Wrath… She’s such a drama queen.
- Greed, That’s Mine Not Yours
- Truth Hurts, Life Goes On Without You
- Envy, don’t you see my pain?
- Truth Hurts: I can’t be changed.
What is Spiritual Darkness https://www.gotquestions.org/spiritual-darkness.html
The importance of darkness https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/local/faith/2018/07/05/darkness-health-faith-relationship/746857002/
My Story
As an imperfect human my growth has been spurred on by a life catastrophe, because I chose to ignore my struggles. Instead of choosing to look inward and identify the source of the problem, which was ME, I placed blame on the society around me. The end result was to numb my discomfort and quell my anxieties with that one glass of wine. By the grace of God I was able to seek forgiveness and unearth my flaws. Through sharing with others I was able to accept my flawed self and learn I did not need to suffer alone. The result peace, from a loving God, not the spirit in the bottle.
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