Find your truth and keep true to yourself – that is all that any of us should be asked to do. If we do that God’s plan simply falls into place. How? Stand firm in your core beliefs without waiver. Living by those beliefs keeps life simple. Decisions become easy to make and the treatment of others becomes less selfish. If we ask for mercy, it’s received – isn’t this enough? Be glad and joyful of yourself and the teachings of Christ. Stay connected to your faith and be mindful of the tongue and thought. (one of my biggest challenges) You will hear your voice wrestle with combined temptation, wonder, fear, hope and disbelief when the truth is revealed but don’t despair, just let it be.
Ignoring the truth will damage the spirit so there is a price. Are you willing to pay? Have courage upon faith and pay attention to what you worship on a daily basis. Is it material things, work, sports, desire for riches, or something else? Go into the flame of truth and ignite your faith, core beliefs, strength and discipline and let the healing begin upon your world.
Do you know what your core beliefs or values are? I will share a little story about one of mine and how it came to be. This event will never leave my mind. I’m about 5 years old and I’m in a “dime store” – that is what we called a drug store like Walgreens back in the 70’s. Basically it was a Dollar General with a Pharmacy. Anyway, I’m with my Mother shopping and we are checking out. I decide to pick up one of those delicious chocolate bars that they so conveniently place on your way out. I couldn’t resist that temptation (explains some later food issues – see future posts). Anyway, my Mother did not see the chocolate bar in my hand and it did not occur to me to tell her. So she completes her transaction and we proceed out of the store. As we are walking down the sidewalk to yet another 70’s retail adventure, I begin to open the chocolate bar (naturally, I can’t wait to dive into this thing). My Mother asked “where did you get that chocolate bar!?!” That question sent a shock wave through me like none I had experienced so far. I instantly knew that I did something very wrong. I told her where I got it and as she grabbed my hand we turned around and swiftly headed back to the store. Oh boy, my heart was racing. My Mother so calmly explained to the cashier that her daughter picked up the chocolate bar without her knowledge. She was so embarrassed but explained that this innocent child did not intentionally “steal” (YIKES) the chocolate bar and asked if she could pay for it. Lucky for me the cashier understood and let me Mother pay for the candy. I felt horrible, dirty and shamed and this was not imposed upon me from my Mother. This feeling came from a place so deep in my internal being that I knew this would never happen again and it become a core belief that taking something without permission or payment was wrong. End of story. No wavering and nothing is too small, like a 5 cent candy bar, to justify stealing.
Think about this. What if my Mother decided that it was a victory that her child was able to “sneak” a chocolate bar out of the store without paying, as if it was an achievement? What if my Mother was too busy to go back to the store and rectify the situation and just scolded me? Would I be a different person? Absolutely. One might think that I’m blowing this out of proportion and that the impact is not that big of deal. I can assure you that those little events in my life made up who I have become today but certainly not who I really am. To find our core, we must start to pay attention to our daily actions and thoughts regardless of how small and begin pealing back the onion of who we have become. After this awareness becomes evident, we typically decide that we have a few extra layers that need to go into the trash, a few that need a little washing and others that we need to consume even more.
Thank God for my Mother and her core values that were passed to me and became my own. Oh, and thank God for chocolate bars! 🙂
