Of course you will experience grief and pain as you move forward from this event. These are natural human emotions, and it would be supremely unhealthy to try to pretend otherwise. However, as you walk through your grief, you will have choices to make. Do you choose to accept what has happened and move forward in a positive manner, or do you choose to make blame a partner in your life? Do you honor your loved one by focusing on the many blessings which resulted from their life, or do you choose to focus on hatred for the one who took them away from you? In short, do you choose to live your life in Love or from hate?

Anger is also a natural human emotion; it is okay to be angry that this has occurred. But anger must be allowed to pass. We may need to do quite a bit of personal spiritual work to release that anger. Again, we have a choice. One choice is to acknowledge the anger, experience it, not hide from it or pretend it doesn't exist, AND claim the whole-hearted intention to move through and ultimately release it. Another choice would be to stuff it down and pretend to be okay when that is clearly not the truth. A third choice would be to make anger the focal point of your life, accepting it as proof that the world is a cruel and harsh place, with danger and misery lurking in every moment.

Regardless of how you choose, your loved one is still removed physically from your human experience. Regardless of your choices, your life has been forever changed. As much as we might wish otherwise, life is never going to get back to normal, in the sense of being like it was before this event happened. You will find a new normal, and that new normal will be created through the choices you make. In this process of creation there is work to do, and it will not be easy work. There is a process of change taking place, and even though many things may seem out of control, we actually are creating the direction of that process by our many, many day-to-day choices.

When things become overwhelming, we can remind ourselves, "In this moment, I have done what is mine to do, and what is mine to do in this moment is rest." When our thoughts begin clustering into what may become a treacherous storm, we can pause, breathe, claim 'Peace, Be Still', and rest. When anger arises again (and again, and again), we can acknowledge it, and again claim our intention to walk through to the other side of the anger. We can choose to seek first the kingdom of God and know that peace, comfort, forgiveness, and the release of anger are the "added things" Jesus assured us would be provided.

Even in the midst of the most terrible circumstances, we create our experience of that circumstance through the activity of our thoughts. Life is choices, even when we find ourselves in circumstances we would never have chosen.

Namaskar-- the divine within me recognizes and honors the divine within you!  

Blessings-- Nita

  Many of the more than 75 bags sewn for foster kid decorated our sanctuary on Sunday. Here's the update from our Outreach Director, Susan Smith:

I brought in the bags we made to Aviva on Monday. They were so appreciative. She said they had just given a bunch a bags away and were running low so our timing was perfect. Divine Order at work! I told her we blessed and loved the bags and she was so thankful for that as well.

 

She told me the demand for the bags is getting higher each year. They pass out 5000 of these bags every year. I am so glad we have done our part to help send this love and caring to these children and the people who support them.

 

I know we will have a few more bags to bring in within the next couple weeks and I will drop them off. If anyone ever wants to make bags during the year, I will be happy to drop them off for you. Thanks again for the donations and the time and love everyone put into this. A special thanks to Cathy Brandon who introduces us to this project and who lead us in our efforts and for working so hard on making bags at home!

 

Thanks again everyone. This was our first Crafting for a Cause effort and we will more to come. We are planning something for November. More about that to come soon.

 

With love, Susan Smith

 

 

 

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