I'm Still Livin

In our Free Store conversation on Saturday morning we followed up on a question someone asked last week that we felt needed further exploration.  How do we know on a practical level that God's love never fails no matter how discouraged we may be abour our circumstances?  One of our new friends said, "I'm still livin" which made us smile.  She went on to say that life was a blessing even when things were hard.  Someone else said that people cling to life even under very challenging circumstances.  We decided that life itself is a sign that there is a benevolent power at work in our universe.

We talked about how life is such a mysterious and yet positively wonderful force.  As we discussed it we realized that something so great must have a source outside of ourselves and pointed beyond itself to either God or a higher power which gives us a basis for our hope and optimism.  Another friend said that she was inspired by seeing people strung out on drugs overcome their addictions.  She told us that she had been clean for six months and we all cheered her success.  George told us that he felt God had spared his life when he almost drowned when he was twelve years old.  He has also been hit by cars while riding his bicycle four times so he thinks his life must have a purpose.

We also discussed how all the good and beautiful things in the world and in our lives point beyond themselves to a source beyond what we see and observe.  Sheila said that God is in us and makes us breath and stuff.  She went on to say she was with Dave when he took  his last breath and she remembered thinking, "Why couldn't God just let him keep breathing?"  It was very sobering to realize how difficult it can be to accept and find meaning in such painful experiences.

George said that when he was feeling down he often thought about the things other people had to deal with.  He said that there were people on death row and people with fatal diseases.  He told us that his mom had wanted to walk one more time but that her leg was amputated and she didn't get that wish.  He encouraged us to enjoy life while we can because we don't know how or when it will end.

As we continued to discuss things that gave us hope when we were discouraged Debbie said your partner and family and friends can lift you up.  Rick said that being around positive people helps you think and stay postive.  George told us that he had to separate from his wife because she just wouldn stop drinkin and that it had been bringin him down.  We talked a bit about how the love and support of other people can be a window into a greater and higher love that exists in the universe.

Although we weren't quite sure how this fit in one of our new friends said that people had been sayin that the world was going to end in 2012.  She had been thinkin about this but had decided that since people keep havin babies that there will be a next generation.  We joked that people had been saying the world would end for a long time and hadn't been right yet so maybe we should stop listening to that bullshit which made us laugh.

As our conversation moved to a conclusion Robert said that something our friend Mark had said last week about having to look back in order to move forward had been very helpful to him.  Another friend said that you have to crawl before you can walk.  Robert went on to say that our troubles are miniscule when compared to living forever which seemed to us like some very encouraging wisdom.