Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land,
strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate……
—Isaiah 1:7
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It’s been a brooding week. Things going on. Unexpected shock and stress from latent shadows. Old demons, asleep now for some time, stirring again in the hidden crevices of the heart.
And rage, like a sleeping dog disturbed, awakes again.
And the dreams. Sporadic. Vivid. Exhausting. Violent. Waking up drenched in torrents of cold sweat.
All of it uprooted by events beyond one’s control. And all the old memories wash back like a flood. What was almost laid to rest rises again, attacking with its viperous sting. Rips again into the soft fabric of the heart where the healing process had begun.
And one looks back over these last eighteen months. Each one an eternity. Yet moving along as all time does, at light speed. A year. Going on two. At all that transpired. From the first day, until the present hour.
And one reflects. On the two lives, supposedly joined forever, brutally sundered. On all the things that could have been done, but weren’t. The incessant haunting regrets, how they diminish only with time, but never entirely disappear.
On all the words that were spoken. In anger. Sorrow. Rage. Pain. Grief. Despair. And all the words left unsaid.
On the loneliness of one, living in a home where two had lived before.
It’s strange. I knew this day would come. Just not when. Or that it would be so soon. It’s not unwelcome. Just jolting. There is no real way to prepare.
All is truly vanity, as the Preacher wrote thousands of years ago. It was true then. It still is.
Everything. Wealth. Possessions. Knowledge. Passion. Power. Pride. Even love.
Everything, that is, outside Christ. The rebirth that’s possible only in Him. And the new life that follows.
A man can plan his path and pursue it. Make choices. Devastate his own empire, burn his bridges behind him and move to a far land. And yet, at some point, after he finds himself alone, after the corn husks meant for the hogs turn to dust in his hands, he may realize what a fool he was. Turn his hungry eyes again to the rich and fertile land he left behind. Long to return. Reseed the desolate fields. Pour new foundations. Rebuild the burnt and vaporized ruins of all he had so senselessly destroyed in his narcissistic passion and colossal pride.
If it’s even possible. Sometimes it is. And sometimes it’s not.
Because some inhabitants of that desolate land may have moved on. Picked up the shattered pieces. Rebuilt their lives. Made the flowers bloom again, as best they could. Their songs of joy, absent for so long, now returning hesitantly, slowly, now echoing tentatively from their wounded hearts.
They may not welcome him back. Ever.
Unless there is no other choice. Because of Christ. And His non-negotiable commands. If they even apply.
And that’s about all I choose to say for now.
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I pride myself on the matter. On never catching a serious cold. Never. Not beyond a few sniffles and coughs, sometimes for as long as a few days. While others are creaking around half dead. I credit my daily dozes of Superfood and a few other vitamins. Strict regimen. I stick with it.
That pride was shattered last Saturday morning. I woke up feeling groggy, my head ready to explode. A severe head cold had set in. All I need, I thought, as I headed off to work. I was disappointed in my Superfood, for not fending it off as usual.
It was awful. I could hardly breathe. Runny nose. Sneezing. The whole thing. But the not being able to breathe part drove me batty.
On the way home, I stopped at a drugstore for some medicine. A friend had recom-mended Aleve-D Sinus and Cold caplets as the best stuff out there. At least the best available without a prescription.
I asked the clerk for it. She reached behind the counter and got a packet. I stared. What was an over the counter drug doing behind the counter? I soon found out.
The clerk unlimbered a great black ledger book and asked me for my driver’s license. My friend had warned me. They don’t sell the stuff over the counter anymore because it’s used to make meth, or some such thing.
“This is insane,” I muttered as I dutifully handed over my license. She copied all the info into the great black ledger.
“It is a little silly,” she agreed, scribbling away, probably furtively planning to report my complaint after I left. She then asked me to sign my name on the appropriate blank. I did so, grumbling. She cheerfully gave me an instant dollar-off coupon, which I appreciated.
The stuff works. Opens my sinuses just like that. I can breathe. And that’s all import-ant. The cold is gone now, having worked its havoc. I have enough Aleve left for the next one. But I’m still quite irate that the government knows I bought it. It’s none of their business.
If I purchased several more packs of the stuff in the next month, my house would probably get raided without warning by the DEA goons, in their black masks, armor and machine guns. It’s a disgrace and a crying shame. Not to mention unconstitutional. We are not free.
It’s been a wild week. Events are unfolding at breathtaking speed. The world is a far different place than it was last Friday when I posted. Despite the bailout, or because of it, the stock market has tanked and bounced wildly and irrationally. Still no bottom. We are in the midst of global financial collapse. Global recession. And only downward from here, into Depression. For the forseeable future.
Business has slowed dramatically, all across the board. The air pulses with palpable fear.
We have, I think, arrived at a place we would not have recognized even a few short weeks ago. Government bailouts mean government ownership. Nationalization of banks. Fascism looms. Or worse. Even the best case scenario looks pretty dark right now.
Historically, economic collapse is always followed by the tramping sound of the jack-booted feet of great marching armies. There will be war.
Like I said a few weeks ago, store some food and water. Keep your powder dry and hold on to your guns. They’re coming for them soon enough. Hunker down quietly. Don’t make a big scene about what you’re doing. Cherish your family and friends. If events dictate a “gathering of the clans,” these people will be your support. And you will be their’s. Don’t be afraid. Be prepared.
Those who think I’m pedaling hysteria are mistaken. I’m simply a lone guy, with a little blog, commenting on events as I see and interpret them. As for making preparations, we western Christians are far too fatalistic. We sit around, don’t prepare, and say what will be will be. Because if the worst comes, we’ll all go home to be with Jesus. That may well be true, but it’s quite immature. As for God’s promised protections, I think He would expect us to take care of ourselves as much as possible. Including making some basic preparations for unknown but possible disasters. Or bad economic times.
Someone emailed me an excellent article on the issue. Instead of trying to paraphrase it, here’s the link. Should Christians Prepare? Read it for yourself. While I strongly disagree with the guy’s eschatology (If I hear one more prophecy about end times and Russia being “Gog and Magog,” I will need to wrap my head with duct tape to keep it from exploding.), it makes a lot of sense otherwise.
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Ira,
Because you posted one article I passed along (which I consider far less important because it is not a moral issue), I’ll chance it to send you the one below (a moral issue; more the shame that people refuse to recognize it as such). I am very consciously goading you. And with the meltdown, we no longer have anything to lose. The “two wings of the same bird of prey” both have candidates with identical “solutions.” This tells us something.
And your personal pain is not unnoticed, passed over, glossed over, nor unprayed for. I am heartened by your explicit affirmation of Christ.
In Him,
LeRoy
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“Ladies and gentlemen, Barack Obama is headed for an electoral landslide victory over John McCain. John McCain can no more beat Barack Obama than Bob Dole could beat Bill Clinton.
“I ask, therefore, Are not conservatives and Christians who vote for John
McCain guilty of the same thing that they accuse people who vote for third
party candidates of doing? Are they not voting for someone who cannot win?
Indeed, they are. In fact, conservatives and Christians who vote for John
McCain are not only voting for a man who cannot win, they are voting for a
man who does not share their own beliefs and principles. If this is not
insanity, nothing is!
“So, why not (for once in your life, perhaps) cast a vote purely for
principle! Vote for someone who is truly pro-life. …”
“A wasted vote is a vote for the ‘lesser of two evils.’ Or, in the case of John McCain and Barack Obama, what we have is a choice between the ‘evil of two lessers.'”
See “Wasted Vote” at: http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2008/cbarchive_20081010.html
And note Chuck is part of the Ron Paul r3volution – the part that is running and CAN win.
“September 22, Congressman Ron Paul publicly gave me his
endorsement for the office of President of the United States. In his blog at
the Campaign for Liberty web site, he said, ‘I’m supporting Chuck Baldwin,
the Constitution Party candidate.’ (See the complete statement at:
http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog/?p=582 )”
–from http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2008/cbarchive_20080923_2.html
Comment by LeRoy Whitman — October 10, 2008 @ 8:06 pm
Another great post, Uncle Ira. The economy in the midwest is rocking n rolling. Times are pretty good economically around here.
Mr. Whitman, you say there is no difference between the two candidates? When Barrack Hussein Obama and his cronies are in the White House and they start raising taxes and enacting legislation that is clearly un-American, third-party voters will all of a sudden be as hard to find as fish in the desert.
You are entitled to vote exactly how you please and you might even brag about voting third-party. When you have one candidate who surrounds himself with AMERICA-hating friends, the choice is clear. You have to deal with the consequences of voting third-party.
Comment by Andrew Yutzy — October 10, 2008 @ 10:21 pm
A lot of common sense coming out of the midwest there, Mr. Yutzy, rally the troops!!!
Comment by P Graber — October 10, 2008 @ 11:45 pm
Don’t understand your logic. I’m not “voting 3rd party” – I’m voting the only alternative. McCain was going to become a Democrat, and is a CFR member. Same agenda as Obama-nation. If McCain gets the White House, it will be no different. (I heard the same stuff with Bush, but he’s done more against the Constitution and common sense than Clinton could get away with.)
Even 6 years of “conservative” Republican control of Executive and Legislative branches resulted in not one truly pro-life bill, not one move against the IRS, not even any consideration against the private bankers (Fed). Ron Paul’s bill recognizing preborn as persons, as his perpetual bill to get out of UN globalism, was blocked or ignored.
Just for quick examples.
You have to deal with the consequences of voting for that. Correction: we all do.
Comment by LeRoy Whitman — October 11, 2008 @ 6:54 pm
For years now, Republicans and Democrats have been leading the country in the same basic direction: toward bigger and bigger government; more and more socialism, globalism, corporatism, and foreign interventionism; and the dismantling of constitutional liberties. Yet, voters continue to think that they are voting for “change” when they vote for a Republican or Democrat. …
Take a look at the recent $700 billion Wall Street bailout: both John McCain and Barack Obama endorsed and lobbied for it.
In the debate this past Tuesday night, both McCain and Obama expressed support for sending U.S. forces around the world for “peacekeeping” purposes. … Neither Obama nor McCain will do anything to stem the tide of a burgeoning police state or a mushrooming New World Order.
–Chuck Baldwin, from the above-referenced column, “Wasted Vote”
So where’s the difference between these figureheads?
You can see a recent speech from Chuck here:
http://www.jbs.org/index.php/about/jbs-50th-anniversary
and read and see lots more at his campaign website: http://www.baldwin08.com
I don’t think I’ll write anymore about this subject before the elections, as it gets tiresome. God can speak, if we are listening. And, as I said to Ira, this is the least important aspect of what God is doing; that does not make it unimportant.
Comment by LeRoy Whitman — October 11, 2008 @ 7:14 pm
Even though I agree with your buddy Baldwin’s policies he has absolutely no chance of winning.
If you really want support a cause to better America see http://www.fairtax.org
Comment by Andrew Yutzy — October 11, 2008 @ 9:44 pm
I am grateful you write. Though some can only imagine the taste of what you experience, at least it is that. And I still pray for ‘the years the locust has eaten’ to be restored.
Comment by sms — October 12, 2008 @ 5:11 pm
We do not need ANY national tax. Taxes apportioned through the states are sufficient.
The defense budget is exactly equal to corporate taxes. Unconstitutional programs can be cut with an increase in actual “welfare” to the poor: less tax will allow small business to flourish, and prospering families will give to those around them.
The only reason Chuck would not win is because people are entranced by media, and gripped by fear. We are all still free to vote as we wish. More important than the Presidential election is the vote for Congress. I voted (by absentee ballot) for Constitution and Libertarian candidates for Congress, because the Legislative can restrain the Executive, and not issue checks. Truly, we get what we deserve.
Comment by LeRoy Whitman — October 13, 2008 @ 12:15 pm
Just a few differences, Mccain’s pick of VP is excellent, he’s not a friend of terroists, he’s not planning on universal healthcare, he has pledged not to raise taxes. Now having said that, do I like Mccain? Not much, but I will vote for him and am taking at least two people that didn’t vote last time with me as well, and I suggest you all do the same!
Comment by Rudy Yutzy — October 13, 2008 @ 9:28 pm
If you want to read an excellent article on women in leadership go to http://www.wisconsinChristiannews.com & type in the search box: commentary Sarah Palin and America’s manhood deficiency.
Chuck Baldwin will probably get my vote.
Comment by DLY — October 13, 2008 @ 11:58 pm
I think there may be many a person reading this post that may appreciate their companion just a bit more….and not take them for granted so much.
As for the other issue, if there is no one else that feels Ira is on the right track, I certainly do.
There just ain’t any use in trying to patch the roof when the foundation is about to crumble.
The foundation was built on the sand, anyway.
They might patch it one more time…for a bit.
Just a matter of time….tho
Comment by fritz — October 14, 2008 @ 12:09 am
Hi Ira,
It’s getting to be that I can no longer just pick a date and find something I haven’t read. I really have to dig these days. Boo Hoo!
How wonderful it is to be a witness to the healing power that can happen within a man’s heart. Such terrible days for you…but no more. Not like they used to be. They will probably never be like that for you again. Thank goodness.
I just never have much to say about politics. I always end up getting all riled up and then things begin to darken. The honest truth is though, things will be darkening more. How I hate writing that. Oh, how I hate it. Especially knowing I brought two boys into this mess who will be here when I am not. Hmmm…guess I’ll have to trust God. Now there’s a concept.
It must be strange for you to get these comments from a story written years back. Like you’re getting half of a letter or half of a phone conversation. I’ve toyed with the idea of writing a blog. But now isn’t the time. I’m homeschooling two boys now, and have to take care of the home-cooking, cleaning, shopping, etc. I’m busy from sun-up to sun-down. Well, who isn’t these days?
Stuff I want to write, but the time it takes… Here it is in the raw: I took a meal to a young mother today that I met at church. She just had her 7th baby. All kids under age 13. I think there’s no dad around. I didn’t ask. She is so dear and so are her children. I drove around trying to find her townhome. Quite a lot of teenagers walking around, looking for trouble, in my opinion. One girl sneered at me when I asked her where the unit was. Another girl barked, “I don’t know!” All of a sudden I’m faced with a car coming at me at what seemed to be 40 mph…driving backwards! I layed on the horn. Nobody even blinked an eye. The moron passed me still driving backwards. He was probably in some sort of a rage and was going to do something wreckless just to show..her, him, them, or noone. I knew drugs were hidden in those butt dragging pants. I hate those things. Like I want to see some kids underpants. What I want to do is yell out the window, “Pull up your pants!” Ick!
So, here we have this dear woman with her toe head toddlers and tweens living in this horrible place. I’ve been feeling down since I left her. I think I’m just unloading. This world. It can be so brutal. I hate that my sister in Christ is living with her children in this evil cesspool. Feelings of helplessness. It’s why I don’t talk politics much. Hot air with no production.
I pass no judgement on this woman. The only comfort she may get is in the arms of a man who can’t care for her and probably uses her. If there’s one thing people crave it’s love. We all do the best we can. Besides, how is that helping her children? Judging her, I mean. Or for that matter, her? Sometimes it’s very painful to care for people so deeply. From what I’ve seen not everyone does. Time for sleep.
Comment by Francine — August 29, 2013 @ 1:02 am