Life is difficult. Many of the things we experience we may have made choices that have led us to the result, and some experiences may be no fault of our own we simply happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Whatever the cause for difficulty and struggle when we place our lives and faith into God’s hands we will have the strength, wisdom and peace to continue on and overcome adversity.
With Respect, Hope, Joy and Love, Carmela
Deep wounds cause pain. Everyone reacts differently to pain, some scream in pain, some lash out and try to inflict pain onto others, some stoically endure pain. If we are unable to explain why some individuals lash out so violently, how then can we ever hope to live in peace with others?
My heart hurts equally for all who have endured pain and loss this week. My heart longs to understand why people react so differently to pain.
Understanding the reaction to pain emotional or physical is what could bring peace.
Fear enrages pain, and Love calms pain. As I am writing this I cannot stop thinking of the elderly lady I met many years ago. The detailed story you can read by clicking here. This beautiful lady lived through the murder of her daughter. Her explanation of the events that she recounted to me seemed too unbearably difficult for anyone to get through.
I talked with her about how she was able to keep the rage, anger and unfairness of the hate filled act that took her daughters life from taking over. Simply hearing the series of events she explained made me wonder how any mother could live through such horror and not be consumed with rage and anger. She very simply said it was my faith that got me through it. Her Gentle spirit continued to explain to me that it was not easy but she had many loving people who supported her and she prayed.
This also makes me think of the Amish School shooting and the reactions of the Amish people after the horrific act, in offering forgiveness.
It is through faith and love from within the heart that cleanses the rage and allows the sorrowful drops that emerge as tears to wash away the need for rage-full acts of revenge.
Humans beings need and long to be heard. Everyone has a story that needs to be told. Expressing our feelings and having another person listen with respect and concern makes us feel valued and loved. When this does not happen our self esteem is compromised. When we do not feel and live with self respect how then can we show and share respect for others and life itself.
It is never to late to reach out for Divine Wisdom Strength and Love. Whenever you feel pain of any kind pray, breath, and Believe in Divine Strength to endure. The answer is never in hurting someone else because you are hurting yourself.
When you give love it comes back to you. Even if you do not feel the love returned from the person you extend love to, your life will still be filled with Love and Peace. No person who acts and gives Love ever lives without Love. Love is multiplies when it is given.
When you are at your lowest and pray for guidance to a higher power outside of your limited human abilities, the strength to act in love will take over to tame the emotional pain and rage.
It is the brokenness of a soul staying stuck within the human confinement of the body, and not looking to heaven for strength and guidance to get through difficult and painful events, that causes a person to want to inflict the same pain they are experiencing on another individual.
Before God we are equally wise—equally foolish. ~ Albert Einstein
Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. For the Lord grants wisdom! ~Proverbs 2:2,6
With Respect, Hope, Joy and Love, Carmela
Increase your Joy by bringing Joy to others.
Light is love, darkness is fear.
A smile is God’s cosmetic. Let your inner light shine brightly, share kindness, love and compassion with a genuine caring smile, and help others find their way out of the darkness and seek Divine Love and Guidance.
There is no room for darkness in a room filled with light.
This post was written for the Daily Post prompt Burn.
With Respect, Hope, Joy, and Love, Carmela
Divine Love, guidance and wisdom become clear to us through our life experiences. My entire life God has introduced me to beautiful people who I have needed to help me better understand myself.
As human beings we all hold wisdom and understanding we have obtained from life’s experiences. We can choose to examine and put words to those events or we can choose to look away, ignore the experience, and continue on never grasping the wisdom we were offered.
Painful feeling and experiences are meant to be shared. This is the only way to fully understand, overcome, move forward, and improve our lives.
Life can be peaceful and full of joy but we have to be brave enough and take steps to fully find it.
Sometimes this means sharing the hurtful, embarrassing, shameful experiences that we have lived through. By doing this our eyes,hearts, and lives are opened to a deeper level of awareness, peace, and connection to humanity.
The words “It is in pardoning that we are pardoned” come to mind as I write this from St.Francis Prayer for Peace Susan Boyle sings it below.
I must tell you that I am so grateful for all of life’s experiences and Truly Thankful for the Many People who God has introduced me to that have helped me find Clarity, True Love For Life and the Longing to Share it with Others.
With Respect, Hope, Joy and Love, Carmela
Every human being has had that OMG moment. A memorable moment of embarrassment. If we are completely honest with ourselves we most likely have several or possibly many of these moments in a lifetime. Yesterday I shared a link to Brene Brown’s Ted talk about vulnerability and shame. She is quite entertaining and informative as well, the link is here.
How we respond to situations where we feel embarrassed or ashamed is very important to our emotional health. When we keep feelings hidden inside they stay with us. It is like renting a room in your house to someone you can’t stand being with because they make you feel bad all the time.
If we share the feeling it looses its power.
Sometimes the feeling of shame may feel SO big that it is hard for you to actually give it a voice. Putting words to it seems harder than keeping it buried deep inside. The world is huge and we all have different backgrounds, and may find comfort responding in very different ways.
I find comfort in prayer. The unconditional Love and Peace we receive from the Love of Jesus comforts me.
We receive a name when we are born however, anyone can steel that name and attempt to sign it, speak it and claim to be you. But we are all created amazingly unique, with a fingerprint that is unlike anyone else, with a heart and soul that no-one else can own or understand! I believe our truest identity is within our heart and soul, our truest and most honest feelings, not in our names.
My heart wishes to be identified with God, as a child of God, an individual who prays for forgiveness, guidance, to know and share unconditional love and gratitude for life.
Unconditional Love means we are Loved and worthy of being Loved even when we do something that makes us want to hide our face in Shame…….
It is OK….. It is not that bad …….. you are still Loved…….
I remember worrying about my grandchildren who were dealing with some very serious life threatening health problems. In order to provide a tangible way in which they could share there feeling and concerns, I bought them Worry Dolls to encourage them to tell their worries to the tiny little dolls.
My grandson Wyatt stated he was only going to tell his worries to the “one that was wearing pants” 🙂
The girls did not express any preference, they were willing to share their worries with any of the dolls.
Myself “Nanny” was worried that the dolls were so tiny they might loose their worry dolls, and then be traumatically upset when they couldn’t find them to tell their worries too!
They used the worry dolls for a little bit, but the greatest comfort for Wyatt when he was faced with fear was praying and wearing our family ring of Peace as a reminder of God’s Unconditional Love and Peace that surpasses all understanding. The link to this story is here.
Searching within our hearts, sharing our deepest and most shameful feelings, forgiving ourselves and understanding that we are Loved and worthy of Love without being perfect will lead you to experiencing true inner Peace and Joy .
As Maya Angelo said…..~ “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better”~
It does not matter how you pray, or where you pray. It just matters that you put words to your feelings, voice them, and understand that you do not need to be perfect to be worthy of Love.
Allow yourself to accept and feel the Unconditional Love that is offered to you.
With Respect, Hope, Joy and Love, Carmela
https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/embarrassing/#like-247905
Brave…… Spunky, Strong, Unafraid, Undaunted, Lionhearted, Herolike, Indomitable, Spirited, these are synonyms for the word BRAVE.
How does one become brave? Is it something that we actually contemplate and then act upon? This makes me think of my beautiful grandson Wyatt who was meeting the challenge of living with Mitochondrial Disease. He would often state before having to endure one of the many painful pokes or procedures required for that day “I’ll be brave”.
It is my belief that Bravery comes from within. It is also my Belief that we obtain it from Above. In my opinion as human beings we have limited abilities, knowledge and strength. When we rely on only what our human mind can plan for us we limit ourselves to small minded solutions.
By reaching outside of ourselves and inviting in Divine Solutions, Bravery will come forth from within.
This doesn’t mean we will function as the Incredible Hulk with a visible strength busting out of our clothing and a relentless hardhearted attitude. Boasting and singing our theme song and successes.
You may not know, but as we pray for Divine Support to fill our hearts and Guide us through difficult times, The Divine Spirit within your heart fills you with an endless wealth of Patience, Peace, Joy, Wisdom and Love.
True Bravery is not boastful and loudly visible it is more noticeable as a beautiful, quiet, gentle, nonthreatening calm, peace and comfort that we are able to function with through whatever daily life sends our way. A Brave person filled with the Divine Spirit is someone you want to draw near to, someone who you can tangibly feel their strength and wisdom. Someone you want to be with and get to know and share their secrets from within.
It does not mean though that we will be void of emotions. Even the toughest and bravest individuals even though they live with the assurance that they will have adequate courage to survive the challenges life sometimes deals us will experience sadness and tears from the life struggles we and others witness here on earth.
Pray for those in need, that they may be filled with the Strength and Peace for Above. Pray that the many humans struggling in “human survival mode” reach out for Divine Wisdom, open their hearts to “Be Brave” (as Wyatt so perfectly and simply said it.)
With Respect, Hope, Joy and Love, Carmela
No matter how Faithful we are and how much Hope fills our hearts there are always moments that just don’t feel right or make sense after navigating through any major life change.
When changes come about suddenly the events that are happening may seem chaotic, random and senseless. Our mind and body seem as though they are functioning in a fog. Both movements and thoughts feel robotic and mechanical.
As the Spirit in us continues to lead us forward, our body sometimes stumbles with unbalanced emotions.
As we maneuver through the confusion, a random or chance meeting or event in our day can set off that Whisper from God that lets you know that you are exactly where you are supposed to be and doing exactly what you should be doing.
Along with the realization that you are where God wants you to be comes with a renewed amazement of the majestic unfolding of event that can only be explained as Divine Guidance.
By keeping our focus on moving forward and hanging on to at least a thread of Hope miracles eventually begin to unfold. Sometimes it is difficult to put into words the awesome beauty of that “Whisper from God” moment but you will know it for sure when you experience it.
It is the most amazing peaceful moment. You know from the bottom of your heart that all is well and this is where you are supposed to be at that very moment in time. In this moment there is a complete level of understanding within your heart that comprehends the importance of all of the events in your life that lead up to this unspoken level of compassion.
It is as if your heart is communicating without words with an absolute non-threatening level of understanding. The total peace that surpasses all understanding. We are more alike than different. When we quiet our thoughts and attempt to communicate with our heart this is the point when heavenly love reaches earth.
Pray that as a world we focus on moving forward and learn to quiet our minds and communicate more with our hearts to allow Heavenly Love to reach earth.
With Respect, Joy, Peace and Love, Carmela
We may not always see eye to eye but we can walk hand in hand and promote peace
What determines if our scars and wounds will leave us with wisdom or damage? Whether we live our lives in love or in fear the probability of pain and heartbreak are equally apparent. Our hearts can break and be easily wounded when we reach out to others in love and we are hurt. Physical as well as emotional hurts can be very hard to bounce back from. There are times in our life when we acquire abusive hurts in our formative years of life that may make dramatic differences in how our lives will develop in the future.
As the sun comes up tomorrow morning it will be the start of a new day. The world will begin anew in many ways. Many innocent children will be born and many human souls will leave their earthly bodies behind as they are welcomed into heavenly presence.
Each day brings us very limited and precious moments. We have the ability to choose how to use these moments. As adults we can make choices. We can choose to follow our limited human brains or we can search for higher enlightenment and understanding by opening our hearts to Divine Love.
Living in God’s Divine Love fills our hearts and minds with a wisdom that surpasses all understanding. It fills us with a strength to Live in Truth and strength to endure the untruthfulness of others life may send our way.
As an innocent child we are born with a heart of Love. The growth and development of that Love is in the hands of the adults who surround us in our most formative years.
In my past experiences working in the mental healthcare field I have worked with many adults who were scarred by abuse in their formative years as a child. Reading the many tragic life histories of these children brings tears and leaves a sorrow on your heart that is impossible to forget.
“Love is what we are born with. Fear is what we learn. The spiritual journey is the unlearning of fear and prejudices and the acceptance of love back in our hearts. Love is the essential reality and our purpose on earth. To be consciously aware of it, to experience love in ourselves and others, is the meaning of life. Meaning does not lie in things. Meaning lies in us.”~ Marianne Williamson~
It is never to late to choose to look outside of yourself for Divine Guidance. Open your heart to Divine Wisdom and Living in Truth.
“We are not held back by the Love we didn’t receive in the past, but by the Love we are not extending in the present.” ~ Marianne Williamson Quote
Please pray that the children who have been wounded from misguided adults are blessed with Divine healing of the scars from abuse. Pray that adults in need may find Wisdom, Understanding, Peace and guidance to seek Divine Love so they may experience love in themselves and others.
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.” – Helen Keller
With Respect, Joy, Peace and Love, Carmela
-What the Caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls a butterfly- Richard Bach
When we are experiencing emotional pain we almost always feel we are alone, feeling great sadness, regret, shame, embarrassment. Our mind will tell us that we are the only one in the world who has ever had reason to feel this ashamed, embarrassed, or sad.. We feel as though everyone is against us. Although the real truth is that in our small corner of the world we are not the only one who ever feels these negative emotions! The opposite is usually true.
These emotions are very common however because they are negative and make us feel inferior we keep them hidden from others, and by doing this we give them power and allow them to pull our self-esteem even lower.
Many human beings that appear to be very confident, out spoken, social and happy, boldly being a comic, shaming, blaming or laughing at others, often times beneath the surface they are insecure people who are attempting to cover up the negative feelings of unworthiness, guilt or shame.
Human beings have many more likenesses than differences. Every human has vulnerabilities.
My heart goes out to those in pain, and I truly wish that no one had to experience pain and negative situations ever. If you have or are experiencing difficulties and negative situation, and have ever felt hopeless. Please take a moment to try to look at the situation in a completely different manner.
Step back from our individual pain and examine the situation as though it were happening to someone else. Negative emotions are universal and every living being is vulnerable to them. What if the uncomfortable experiences that we endure were a divine gift of understanding and compassion that we could use to help the many others who are feeling hopeless? When we use our experiences to reach out and help others, we can open our hearts and minds to become the pathway through which Divine Guidance can lead others toward hope. Blessings to you and all those who are in pain. Be the change that you wish to see in the world. Open your heart and allow Divine Guidance to lead.
With Respect, Hope, Joy and Love, Carmela
Please take a moment to listen. Many times songs will contain very important messages……. Please listen and share with others!
overcomer-Mandisa Gold-Britt Nicole I gave up-Mark Schultz
[audio
Much time has passed since my last post. I seem to have been at a loss for words since the passing of my grandson. Grief is a very strange thing. There is much written about it and many thoroughly explained steps of grief are defined, but there is no quick recovery and each event is so very different.
Several months before Wyatt’s passing he was very anxious and afraid. He was having bad dreams and medications were causing some hallucinations. I happened to be wearing a thin silver band ring with the word PEACE engraved on it. I gave him my ring, and had a conversation with him. “This can be your safety ring. Do you remember in church how we share the peace with our neighbor?” Shaking hands and saying “Peace be with you”. “Yes” he answered. “Wear the ring to remind you that you are safe and fold your hands and say, Dear God, Please take all the scary stuff away.” The ring reminds us that we’re not alone comfort is just a prayer away. The ring and prayers brought him comfort.
We also talked about having a family ring made. He could chose what he wanted it to look like and say. We each would have a ring and wear it so even when we are not together we can wear and feel safe. He discussed the ring with mom dad and sisters and they decided on having a silver band with a small heart stamped on the band and inside the band it would say forever loved. We had them made and wore them. We were comforted by the connection of the ring and the reminder we are not alone. The ring continues to bring me comfort I treasure the daily reminder of my loving grandson’s presence and the comfort of our loving God.
With respect, hope, joy and love, Carmela
Carmela Snelbaker 