Better Angels
In my more misanthropic moments I have no great affection for people as a whole. I care very much for my friends and family, but humanity in general can seem to be wrapped up in petty, short-sighted games. Live or die, we all feed the fire as Clive Barker wrote.
Like many of my peers I've felt like I had some purpose here, but I've never figured out what that was. I'm smart, but neither ambitious nor motivated. I've always wanted to be, hoped, I was special. It's a bit juvenile, I know, but there it is. I want there to be magic in the world and in me.
I was thinking of these things as I looked out a plane window not so long ago and I realized that people do think I'm special. They find me caring and very capable. What they don't realize is that it isn't always something that comes naturally. Sometimes it is a cultivated and conscious effort.
Caring about others and putting myself out there to help...it's the right thing to do. It isn't what my parents taught me, though they always took care of family when needed and friends when asked. I will go to the ends of the earth for the people I love, but I'll go out of my way for others as well. For the people I care about I don't think I could be any other way, but for others, t's just, well, the right thing to do. God made us with the ability to look after each other, gave us the golden rule. We should offer a hand to our neighbors. He takes care of the big stuff, the least we can do is take care of each other. And reaching out to another, even in a small way can make such a difference. It can let them know that they matter.
There have been times where I've been caught up in worries about things that are just out of my hands, and they seem to be tidied up so I can be mentally equipped to handle the "clean up" that is well within my wheelwell. I can take care of the little stuff and he takes care of the big stuff. When my mom was in the hospital the things I couldn't effect like her surgery, her recovery fell into his hands and worked out, and between mom and I we figured out a plan to take care of the house while she recovered. I could handle my work and her life because I knew his hand was still there, but Mom and I were supporting each other. And when I first got the news of her accident a friend took the time to come over when I just needed company because I was panicking. God got Mom through surgery, Val got me through knowing she was in the hospital.
So while He could do everything, why should we ask or expect Him to? He gave us that ability. So maybe my great purpose, my magic if you will, is realizing we need to take care of each other and let God focus on taking care of the big stuff. Maybe when we ask Him for help we need to recognize the angels around us, the ones he sends to our call, and perhaps we all need to step up and be those angels for others.
Like many of my peers I've felt like I had some purpose here, but I've never figured out what that was. I'm smart, but neither ambitious nor motivated. I've always wanted to be, hoped, I was special. It's a bit juvenile, I know, but there it is. I want there to be magic in the world and in me.
I was thinking of these things as I looked out a plane window not so long ago and I realized that people do think I'm special. They find me caring and very capable. What they don't realize is that it isn't always something that comes naturally. Sometimes it is a cultivated and conscious effort.
Caring about others and putting myself out there to help...it's the right thing to do. It isn't what my parents taught me, though they always took care of family when needed and friends when asked. I will go to the ends of the earth for the people I love, but I'll go out of my way for others as well. For the people I care about I don't think I could be any other way, but for others, t's just, well, the right thing to do. God made us with the ability to look after each other, gave us the golden rule. We should offer a hand to our neighbors. He takes care of the big stuff, the least we can do is take care of each other. And reaching out to another, even in a small way can make such a difference. It can let them know that they matter.
There have been times where I've been caught up in worries about things that are just out of my hands, and they seem to be tidied up so I can be mentally equipped to handle the "clean up" that is well within my wheelwell. I can take care of the little stuff and he takes care of the big stuff. When my mom was in the hospital the things I couldn't effect like her surgery, her recovery fell into his hands and worked out, and between mom and I we figured out a plan to take care of the house while she recovered. I could handle my work and her life because I knew his hand was still there, but Mom and I were supporting each other. And when I first got the news of her accident a friend took the time to come over when I just needed company because I was panicking. God got Mom through surgery, Val got me through knowing she was in the hospital.
So while He could do everything, why should we ask or expect Him to? He gave us that ability. So maybe my great purpose, my magic if you will, is realizing we need to take care of each other and let God focus on taking care of the big stuff. Maybe when we ask Him for help we need to recognize the angels around us, the ones he sends to our call, and perhaps we all need to step up and be those angels for others.
posted by Liz @ 3:30 PM
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