Spirituality Is For Those Who Have Already Been There Page 1 2 3

"Religion is for those who are afraid of going to hell. Spirituality is for those who have already been there." Cheryl's Home Webrings

Cheryl's Collection of Spirituality Stories Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

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God says "no" a lot but all he is really saying is wait -- there is something better for you down the road.

W A I T

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried:
Quietly, patiently, lovingly God replied.

I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate,
and the Master who gently said, "Child, you must wait."

"Wait? You say, wait!," my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!"

Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By Faith, I have asked, and am claiming your Word.

My future and all to which I can relate
hangs in the balance, and YOU tell me to WAIT?

I'm needing a 'yes' a go-ahead sign,
or even a 'no' to which I can resign.

And Lord, You promised that if we believe
we need but to ask, and we shall receive.

Lord, I've been asking, and this is my cry:
I'm weary of asking! I need a reply!"

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate
As my Master replied once again, "You must wait."

So, I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut
and grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting......for what?"

He seemed, then, to kneel, and His eyes wept with mine,
and He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.

I could shake the heavens, and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead, and cause mountains to run.

All you seek I could give, and pleased you would be.
You would have what you want- but, you wouldn't know Me."

"You'd not know the depth of My love for each saint:
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint:

You'd not learn to see through the clouds of despair:
You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there;

You'd not know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence were all you could see."

"You'd never experience that fullness of love
as the peace of My Spirit descends like a dove;

You'd know that I live and I save...(for a start),
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart."

"The glow of My comfort late into the night.
The faith that I give when you walk without sight.

The depth that's beyond getting just what you asked
of an infinite God, who makes what you have LAST."

"You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that "My grace is sufficient for Thee."

"Yes, your dreams for your loved one overnight would come true.
But, Oh, the loss! If I lost what I'm doing in you!

So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see that the greatest of
gifts is to get to know Me."

"And though oft' may My answers seem terribly late.
My most precious answer of all is still, "WAIT'. "

Author Unknown

The definition of addiction..."anything that takes the place of my relationship with my Higher Power."

"Brian always perks up when the ring the bells after the Euchirist (sorry about spelling) is blessed. Today I told him, "They ring because the priest asked God to make the host into the body of Christ. And the ringing is to remind everyone that the host is now the body of Christ." Brian responsed, "Like me?"" by my daughter Tara Barron

SYMPTOMS OF INNER PEACE

Be on the lookout for symptoms of inner peace.

The hearts of a great many have already been exposed to inner peace and it is possible that people everywhere could come down with it in epidemic proportions. This could pose a serious threat to what has, up to now, been a fairly stable condition of conflict in the world.

Some signs to look for:
* A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears based on past experiences.
* An unmistakeable ability to enjoy each moment.
* A loss of interest in judging other people.
* A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.
* A loss of interest in conflict.
* A loss of the ability to worry. (This is a very serious symptom.)

* Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation.

* Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature.

* Frequent attacks of smiling.

* An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than make them happen.

* An increased susceptibility to the love offered by others as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it.

Be Forewarned!!!
If you have all or even most of the above symptoms, please be advised that your condition may be too far advanced to turn back. If you are exposed to anyone exhibiting several of these symptoms, remain exposed at your own risk. This condition of inner peace is likely well into its infectious stage.

"When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice."
~Indian saying~

Creation: A Sioux story

And the Creator said, "It is done."

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT AS YOU GET OLDER

My brother-in-law opened the bottom drawer of my sister's bureau and lifted out a tissue-wrapped package. "This," he said, "is not a slip. This is lingerie." He discarded the tissue and handed me the slip. It was exquisite; silk, handmade and trimmed with a cobweb of lace. The price tag with an astronomical figure on it was still attached. "Jan bought this the first time we went to New York, at least 8 or 9 years ago. She never wore it. She was saving it for a special occasion. Well, I guess this is the occasion." He took the slip from me and put it on the bed with the other clothes we were taking to the mortician. His hands lingered on the soft material for a moment, then he slammed the drawer shut and turned to me. "Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Every day you're alive is a special occasion." I remembered those words through the funeral and the days that followed when I helped him and my niece attend to all the sad chores that follow an unexpected death. I thought about all the things that she hadn't seen, or heard, or done. I thought about the things that she had done, without realizing that they were special. I'm still thinking about his words, and they've changed my life. I'm reading more and dusting less. I'm sitting on the deck and admiring the view without fussing about the weeds in the garden. I'm spending more time with my family and friends and less time in committee meetings.

I wear my good blazer to the market if I feel like it. I'm not saving my good perfume for special parties; clerks in hardware stores and tellers in banks have noses that function as well as my party-going friends'.  "Someday" and "one of these days" are losing their grip on my vocabulary. If it's worth seeing or hearing or doing, I want to see and hear and do it now. I'm not sure what my sister would have done, had she known that she wouldn't be here for the tomorrow we all take for granted. She might have called a few former friends to apologize and mend fences for past squabbles. I like to think she would have gone out for a Chinese dinner, her favorite food. I'm guessing - I'll never know. It's those little things left undone that would make me angry if I knew that my hours were limited.

I'm trying very hard not to put off, hold back, or save anything that would add laughter and luster to our lives. Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experience to savour, not endure. I'm trying to recognize these moments now and cherish them.

"God loves you and He knows all the secrets of your heart...you've allowed the past to come between you and God. Turn the past over to God. He's strong enough to take it. And give Him your future, too....He'll make you strong enough to live it."
The angel Claire, speaking to Jake, a jaded Vietnam vet, in the TV show Touched By An Angel.

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