LOST LOVES

I live in Southern California and have for most of my life. There are so many places over the years that I visited that held a special place in my heart. What made them special too me was the atmosphere and ambience. That is to say, they exuded a special quality of spiritual energy that left me with some great memories.

But the one reality is that things seldom stay the same. And on many occasion the very thing that inspired and fuel my love for given location died when it changed.

So often the change was to take a place that could touch the heart with serenity or peace and commercialize it. Predictably money was far more important than any other priorities.

But frequently in the process of trying to capitalize on what gave a place its special allure and appeal, the commercialization ended up killing its charm. Which I think is primarily because they honestly didn't understand what it was that made that given place special.

What I do know is how often the feelings and passions that swirled in my soul die when the energy fled a given place. There is just something truly tragic about when the intimacy of a given experience is lost. It just never seems the same as if you can never recapture it.

The one good thing I do enjoy is knowing that this isn't true of one's relationship with the Lord. From time to time it is easy to lose the connection of faith and spirit. There are all kinds of reasons, including the simple reality that we are human and easily side tracked. It means to find oneself feeling a separation from one's spiritual life.

However, God is longsuffering and compassionate. There are those who suggest that this constitutes some kind of unpardonable sin if we fall away from the faith. Such people will make a person feel like there is never a chance of ever returning to the Lord.

The good news is that as long as we seek the Lord, he will be there. One can't presume upon the grace of God by thinking you can treat the Lord with disrespect for his sovereignty.

But if in one's heart as only we can be honest with ourselves, the desire is there to seek the Lord no matter how far we have drifted, he will be there for us. And the best part is that unlike human experiences, a love of God can be the same. Perhaps different in terms of our understanding, but it can be regained.

Satan will always seek to discourage and tell us we have goofed up so badly, we have n chance for salvation. It is such terrible tragedy when anyone is used of the devil to perpetuate that idea.

We can go beyond such lies, no matter how badly we think we have failed the Lord. The only failure that truly can prevent our reclaiming a lost love of the Lord is to not try.