IN THE WAKE

Our hearts can be measured at times not so much by our initial actions, but by how we deal with the consequences. We see victory and prosperity as the anchors of faith. Those that are rewards in our thinking and blessings for a pure ability to trust.

And yet it is when we fall into that crevice of despair and things don’t go our way that our faith either truly shines or dims completely. That is the bearing of being, the essence of our deepest feelings and a real yardstick of what we truly believe.

However it isn’t as glamorous of a spiritual image to regard the person in the shadows as one with as it is the one who stands in the limelight of success. We would rather emulate the victory than the darkness in our actions if possible. At least in terms of what we espouse are our desires.

Still since one can’t walk strictly by sight and in the light constantly, to abide with trust during the times when one is in the wake of heartache can be the time of true soul searching. It is the pedestal of reflection where we may finally cast off the vestments of excuses and let ourselves be truly honest about our feelings. In that moment of nakedness we can face the real dawn of truth about who we really are. And in the process ask the real burning question of whether the path we are following we are doing with complete and full desire or if we are simply doing it out of habit or out of fear of what somebody else might thing if we didn’t act in the same manner.

Sometimes we can live in this type of denial and forced conformity absent the need to face the real truth for a very long time. And if we happen to not be placed in a point of crisis where we must come to the wake of an episode we might be quite comfortable in our delusions. I’ve known some who plotted along for decades and found a way to resist any crossroads of reflection where God might finally use it as a tool that lead to some revelation that inspire a life change that brought a form of spiritual maturity.

This is not about salvation. It is about finding the real path where God wants to lead us. To be able to cast off the errors in our convictions and start over along a path that is more blessed and rewarding can be fearful. It is hard to admit we were wrong and sinned. That despite our prayers, biblical knowledge and desires we are still human and capable of making mistakes.

And in that vortex of doubts and questioning God can minister to us in a healing way. He can surround us with the light of his grace and understanding. We can come to a peace of knowing it was intended as a learning experience. That is because it is better to have learned from being in the wake of an experience than to simply return to the old path. The only tragedy is when we never profit in insight from our failings.

Grace is the link and bond that God bestows upon us as part of that journey. It is the glue of faith that can keep us from totaling falling apart when having to finally be honest about our true feelings. Some don’t depend upon this glue and would rather use some band-aid of excuse that appeals to our pride. In the journey of faith, a pit stop in the wake can be a blessing if we let God teach us. Only it means embracing being more dependent upon Jesus as Lord and Savior than our own strength. Some never learn that lesson others do. Hopefully we find the path intended and don’t use it as a detour into some cavern of greater denial.