Good day my brothers and sisters. Love and peace to you. My latest painting. I think it is recognisable as the work of an outsider artist, but what do you think? Have you looked at much work by outsider artists? Buster and me were out over the park not an hour ago, but less. Its a lovely sunny day here, but a bit on the cold side. One fellow out walking with his dog, ignored me completely when I said `have a good day.` That of course is his prerogative, it wasnt easy for me as I had to quietly ask God to bless him. Not easy for me, but good for my soul. Heck, when I lived in the Philippines I prayed for the guys that tried to kill me on two occasions and they came close to accomplishment on both occasions. Here but for the grace of God and my previous fighting/shotokan karate training am I.
The following is not by me, but I identify with it wholeheartedly. For application to me, you should think, brain injury instead of Illness. Though more I should ask you to identify yourself with it. If always unable to see ourselves in others, then we can pray, `I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.` and `Give me a pure heart o lord and put a right spirit within me.`
A time for suffering and ascetic effort
However just and pure a man may be, there is always an element of sin in him which cannot enter the Kingdom of God and which must be burned up. Our sins are burned up by our sufferings.
Our love of God is measured by our willingness to accept sufferings and misfortunes and to see in them the hand of God. We can find support in the fact that these sufferings are also the measure of the love that God bears usl
Sweat, tears, blood . . . If sweat is accompanied by inner rebellion, anger, murmuring; if tears are caused by pain, offence, rage; if blood is shed without faith - the soul will not obtain any benefit. But if all this is accomplished in a spirit of obedience. contrition and faith, it purifies and elevates us.
The world is crooked and God straightens it. That is why Christ suffered (and still suffers), as well as all the martyrs, confessors and saints - and we who love Christ cannot but suffer as well.
Illness has taught me a great deal. It has confirmed me even more deeply in the conviction that if a man is with Christ, then he is with suffering, and that there is no other way for the Christian than the way of pain, inward and outward. And as I thought of the innocent suffering in the world, I said to myself that through such undeserved, innocent suffering the invisible Kingdom of God is built up, his suffering Body - the Church of God - is created and gathered together in unity.
FATHER ALEXANDER ELCHANINOV
Have a good day my brothers and sisters. We are One body, but can benefit from ` I am second` (see youtube) Yours, Peter G Kimble
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