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Reality ~ GOD IS!

Since I was little, I
believed.  Believe what?  I believed that God IS.  One morning one of my sixth grade students
asked where God came from.  Without
hesitation I opened the Bible to Genesis 1:1 and read the first for words….”In
the beginning
God…”   God gloriously is.  He simply IS.   Every time I see the design of a flower, a
baby’s smile or experience a new season I know God IS.  When I watched the plethora of snow flakes
land on the deck, I am amazed, for I know the design of each snowflake is
designed by God.  When I study the intricacies
of the brain and see the effects of dementia first hand or a brain tumor, I see
God is in the delicate balance of order He spoke into being with only His Voice. 
During conversations of creation
VS. evolution, I could see the fallacy of belief if creation itself is
discounted.  I also knew that the pull of
gravity, the distance of the stars and their path in the sky, the depth and
order of the universe or the ‘why’ of the migratory pathway of a bird cannot be
explained through the shallowness of evolution. Years ago, I read in a book of
dinosaurs a picture of dinosaur bones with the confession from the scientist
that the head had been on the tail end for several years before someone
realized.  The thought came, since God
IS, could He have placed dinosaur bones in the earth to keep ‘his children’
busy with the puzzle of dinosaurs? 
My daughter sent me a website
concerning Laminin.  I have not heard of it before.  It is the glue that holds us together and is
shaped like a cross.  Really.  Before we knew what a laminin was, Paul wrote
in Colossians 1:15-17 –
For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,
whether
 thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things
were created
 through
him and for him.
  And he is before all things, and IN HIM ALL THINGS HOLD TOGETHER  (http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/l/laminin.htm#.UrB4VLSJ7Ig_)
When
God created (spoke man into being) after he created all else, he declared, “And
God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” Genesis 1:31a 
In
His Holy Word, God has plainly given us a pathway, a life-way to make our journey
on this earth easier and sweeter with Him. 
He not only created our environment, but he created the essence of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control
(Galatians
5:22-23).   Living through the screen of these qualities
of the fruit of the spirit is not easy when competiveness, anger, jealousy,
strife, ugly words rise in our hearts and our minds, wanting immediate
expression. 
Each
time I read His Words, I am filled with wonder and joy.  From the beginning His Plan was, is, will be
to continue a living relationship with His Children — those who choose
Him.  A living relationship that is
without these:  Now the works of the
flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,  idolatry,
sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions,
divisions,   envy, drunkenness,
orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before,
that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”  Galatians 5:19-21
With
the coming of Christmas, I wonder how Mary felt when she faced the journey to
Bethlehem, being great with child.  Or
when these strange men came to peer at the new baby.  Or when they fled to Egypt to escape the wrath
of Herod.  Or when her son, God’s One and
Only Son, died on the cross.  Or seeing
Jesus rise from the dead.  Or when Jesus
left this earth in a cloud.  Did she
understand all that Jesus was, is and will be. 
That Jesus IS, and through His Grace we have the promise of Eternal Life! 
Then
I see more clearly that each day, through every event in my life, I must
remember where strength lies. What I live, what I feel has all been felt over
and over before in this world that God created. 
It is how I respond to the challenges and the opportunities to grow is
what will be remembered.  Will it be a
testimony to the reality of God IS, or will it be a denial?
The
first over-arching fruit of the spirit is Love. 
The all-encompassing mystery of sacrifice and acceptance of God is
Love.  I walk with Him as a child with my
hand in His.  And when I can no longer
walk, He carries me through the mire of disappointment and hurt.  It is my choice.  A choice I make over and over in a day.  I hold his banner high.  The banner of the cross is ever before
me. 
In this day of cynicism and doubt, we wonder what
is real.  I wonder how Abraham could know
God is real.  Or his son, Isaac, or
grandson, Jacob?  Where did David’s faith
come from?  How were the disciples so
sure of Jesus?  Then I remember the
verse, But Jesus looked at them and said,
“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”  Matthew 19:26.
My
husband was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia in April 2012.  Even though he cannot remember short-term
memories, sometimes his foresight is amazing. 
One day, as we prayed for our eldest son, Dan, and his battle with a
cancerous brain tumor, Ed asked, “What makes you think he is going to
die?”  His question was timely since Dan
has been placed in Hospice.  God again
filled me with His hope, always remembering all is in His power and His
will.  Our reality is that God IS.  Each day is filled with God-Reminders of His
Grace and Mercy.
Today
the forecast today is for sunshine, and as I write, it is snowing huge billowy flakes.  Even so, the reality of God is always filled
with surprises.  The reality of God IS
and always will be.  We may hide from the
God IS, but He is more real than the bread we eat.  We may run away and hide from God, but the
world of His Creation is all around us, a sign posts at every turn that God IS
Real and lives.  We may deplore the hurt
around us, but it is simply the pathway to GOD IS LOVE!
Joy is the silver lining of the clouds of Suffering.

“Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God!”  Revelation 19:1b

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