Let There Be Light

Water and light are the very essence of life, we know this as humans as we can not live without either.  Water is essential, just spend an hour in the desert and you'll find out how thirsty one can become without good old H2O.  Light is the same, plants can not grow without light, humans can not function without our Vitamin D. Only mushrooms and bats can survive without light, bats are blind and mushrooms well, you know...  Terry, why bring up light you may ask?  Light is the topic for this week and we will start out with the word of God and proceed from the very beginning. 

The first lines in the old testament say the following:

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  And the earth was without form, and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep.  And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.  And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.  And God saw the light and it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.  Genesis 1:1-4

Sadly in these times, 2020 The Year That Was, was the year we lived in darkness.  Reverend Kevin mentioned last week in his sermon that we are okay but are we?  So I ask my readers, are you okay, really okay?  I can say I am okay to a point then the Okay starts to fade and the Not So Okay becomes apparent.  This is not because of personal Issues or moving from my security blanket.  I blame it on the darkness enveloping the earth these days.  

I've mentioned this in previous blogs, I truly feel a darkness has descended on our earth, our lifestyle and the entire fabric of our society.  Oh I know some blame President Trump, balderdash I say.  Some blame the republicans, others the democrats, more balderdash!   I say it's time we as humans start to examine our hearts, souls, thoughts and frankly our mortal existence.  What has happened to our society when good manners, social graces, morals and common sense leave us and we become like rabid vermin, attacking one another?  Let me make a few observations and hope to clarify them with answers.

1.  We have forgotten how to treat people with basic respect.  All of us had some sort of respect drilled into our heads from the time of birth.  This is all of us, no one is immune from a parent’s reprimand and correction.  I remember sticking my tongue out at my mother when she walked out of the room   I can still hear her say; “I saw that, next time it will be snipped off.” As a young child, I was afraid of my mother,  very afraid so that happened maybe twice but not three times to be sure. What mom was teaching was basic respect. No elbows on the table, speak when spoken to, say please and thank you; these were basic corrective actions given to small children.  I still carry them today in my day to day life. As an adult however, I do speak up more often but that’s because I’m by nature chatty, and enjoy a good conversation.

2.  Has anyone noticed lately the amount of swearing in normal conversation?  Okay, I confess, I’ve let a few slip out more than once, I’m no saint.  Usually it’s when I’m watching the news, angry at something or ticked off that Russell Wilson didn’t connect his pass.  Notice how the F word seems to be a staple in our conversation today.  No one seems to be offended when they hear it!  We’ve become so desensitized that we tend to ignore it.  When and how did this happen?  It’s time we get back to civility and replace foul language with words we would use when we’re talking to grandma.  My dad used to say, using foul language shows a person does not have a good command of the English language.  Daddy as always was correct and I promise to clean up my language starting today.

3.  What is extremely disturbing these days is how the word racist keeps being thrown around so cavalierly.  It’s now being used as an excuse for a disagreement.  I am not a racist nor do I know any racists. I do know people who are sick and tired of watching a bunch of thugs trying to burn down our cities, attack our police or think they can walk on to private property and simply declare it’s now theirs (this is happening, watch the news). Recently I saw a video of diners in an outdoor restaurant, eating their meal while being harassed by a bunch of hoodlums screaming in their faces.  The diners were perceived to be racists if they spoke up and defended themselves.  This should never be allowed, a diner paying for their meal has the right to sit and enjoy it.  Private property is just that, private.  No one has the right to walk on someone else’s lawn and declare it theirs.  

4.  We have lost complete respect for human life in this country.  I am not talking about abortion, that’s another subject for another day.  What I’m talking about is respect for our fellow human.  This lack of respect is for police, fire, military, public officials and frankly you and I. The Mask Nazi’s are out throwing insults at people who won't wear the stupid thing.  This mask thing is absurd and our basic right to decide for ourselves has been taken away.   I'm past the point of thinking the mask thing is okay, I'm now mad my right to decide for me is gone. This is communism folks, remember Venezuela, Cuba, the old Soviet Union and yes China.  This is America, land of the free, home of the brave.  We are NOT a communist country nor we will ever be one if I have anything to do with trying to stop it.

5.  Notice that lately, Americans are being stripped of the basic right to defend ourselves and frankly folks, this is scary.  The sale of guns and ammunition is at an all time high and an all out civil war will take place if we're not careful.   I'm one who believes it's already started, it's just not full blown yet. Americans believe in the Second Amendment, it’s in our constitution, next to free speech and along side the women’s right to vote.  

So what do we as Americans do, as citizens of the world, responsible people?  We start speaking out loud and often and we stop putting up with the nonsense. This is plain and simple frankly and very easy to do.  Start speaking kindly again, watch your language and start acting not reacting.  Start living life with love, happiness and care for your neighbor.  It’s time we wake up and truly ask ourselves, is this how we want to spend the rest of our lives?  Do we want our children and grandchildren to live in darkness? It’s time to examine our soul and ask if  we want the light of God, The Universe to shine through us or the darkness of evil   I’m choosing the God of the universe and I believe if we all chose God, the darkness will disappear and light will shine bright on this earth.  We will begin to love one another again and peace will rein.

Sunday May 29, 1983 the Daily Word published this affirmation along with the Bible verse above:         

"Let there be light and let it shine through me"                                                      

 "Let there be light.  Let there be light in me guiding light in my mind, healing light in my body, harmonizing light in my world.  Let there be light in all who are dear to me.  Let there be light in all the people in all the world.  Let there be no place where darkness remains.                                                      

"Let there be light.  Let the  people of our world seek for light, live for light, lead one another in to the light.  Let there be light in all darkened areas.  Let there be light in the minds of us all, in the affairs of our world."

~ Praise be to God, amen