Lightkeeper's Journal

Strength for the Battle

 

 Article and Photography by Curtis Beaird

 

The toughest battles we fight occur within ourselves. The battleground is always an inner choice. Even the simplest decision occurs long before we feed the coins into the drink machine.

The tussle between “Yes or No” --- "I will or I won’t" --- "I can or I can’t" --- is resolved within our mind, spirit, inner person. Take your pick of the name you give it. Our inner life manages our outer actions.

Our inner life sources patience, kindness, courage, faith, hope and love, all of which require energy. Love is one of the most demanding actions in a day that is bathed in perpetual chaos. There are very few who are standing on the curb clapping when the parade called love goes by. Caring rarely comes naturally. It takes an inner effort beyond feeling sorry for the kittycat caught in a tree to move us to action. Leaning into the struggle takes effort, and sometimes a lot of it.

Courage trails love only slightly in its energy demands. How many times a day does a call to step up and take responsibility begin with a sigh? “He did what?” “You mean I’ve got to do that again?” Long silence. Turmoil twists our spirit. Our inner person spins out of control in an all-too-familiar whirlpool. Finally. “I will be there in thirty minutes.”

Exhausting. Simply exhausting. Hope can fade if we go it alone in our world of constant choices, especially when those choices are seldom heroic and are too often made of tedium. Faith requires more than a gritty self-determination to see it through. The Apostle Paul knew how fragile the inner person could be when faced with a constant flow of disappointment and a spirit pushed past fatigue.

So he prayed. He prayed for his friends at Ephesus. He prayed for all who faced the challenge through the ages. He prays for us.

“That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory,

to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man.”  Ephesians 3:16

Strengthened …
with might
by His spirit
in the inner man.

Who really wants to turn that down?

 

 

 

Copyright 2017, Curtis and Norma Beaird.  All rights reserved.  

Patience is Power

  

The Great Egret

 

Photography by Norma Beaird

Article by Curtis Beaird

 

All situations, even grief, can be about learning. It is our choice.

There is meaning beyond pain. There is purpose beyond the absurd. To lose the feeling of control offers the opportunity to gain mastery over fear.  Patience is the light that shows us the way. It is our choice.       

Never waste a bad situation. What is God teaching us?  Stop. Focus. Listen. If what we hear is a long silence that grows into an even longer silence, is it possible that the message for us is to exercise courage and be still?  To use our strength to be quiet and silent? Attend to the silence. God never shouts.

Waiting, the first cousin of patience, takes energy.

Why waste it on anger? 

Anger robs patience of its power. Anger dilutes our strength of will and leads us into bad decisions. 

Anger makes of us a victim. It costs us what control we do have. It abandons us to defend and explain ourselves.  

Anger, once expressed, leaves us with bridges to repair that we didn't need to burn. Anger, once acted on, leaves us weakened and scrambling for solid footing and a sure direction.

Anger promised power, but once expended, leaves us small and diminished. Anger is exhausting.

Patience reserves the right to speak and act. Patience guards options and discovers possibilities.  Patience reveals the appropriate method, the right timing and even the choice of words. Waiting enables us to gather strength. Waiting discovers the way. Waiting makes us ready. 

We seek control of the situation.

We find it in the practice of patience.

Patience and silence enables us to remain alert and aware. Patience allows us to see the big picture. Its partner, silence, will teach us what we need to know and what we need to do. Patience will show us when to act. 

Patience is a strong mixture of silence, listening and the creative use of our strength of will.  It reveals multiple choices and the substance of decision. While it feels passive, inactive, and possibly even weak, it offers the freedom of self-control.  It enables us to manage impulse and generates the hope that leads to an advantaged future.  

In waiting, we discover the truth of the words of Isaiah,

"…they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk , and not faint.  Isaiah 40:31

Patience is power.

 

 

Copyright 2014, Curtis and Norma Beaird.  All rights reserved.