TESTS OF FEATHERS

Feathers for me are the little circumstances that tease in some special way. Not always as a blessing, but neither as a tragedy either. They can be neutral in terms of how the impact you other than you are aware of their reality.

What makes these feathers important is because of they say about our values and heart. Often the stress they produce can truly touch somewhere deep inside. We end up losing control and making some mistake.

And the whole time we think we are okay. That we are in control and not vulnerable to such stimulus.

Then comes the time when we have to embrace the reality that we do have a dark side. And do make mistakes. Even worse about how we have done something sinful.

For a person who ties his or her salvation to being perfect that is a worse problem. Because it is hard to avoid not a sin is not a good thing regardless of how we choose to rationalize it.

So it only becomes such a tendency to avoid facing this problem. We prefer to simply find some way to avoid that little problem.

It never works in fact. But it doesn't keep us from trying. Instead we spend the time letting ourselves reject the truth. Those little feathers are and can be such a major test of our spirit.

And along the way we might learn our lesson. Or try to figure out a way to make the feathers become a way to fly

The whole time God still is loving and merciful and longsuffering. He will not take away of feathers. Just keep letting them stroke us until we face the truth.

This often doesn't happen. Instead we will often do anything to not face the truth. Because it is so much easier to see ourselves as in control.

Weakness never makes us happy to embrace. And our pride can often fight to ignore such details.

Until the time comes when we just can stop facing the feathers as something to ignore and let God help us to use them to fly. That doesn't always happen when we wish.

But God is merciful to us and will guide us slowly in the right direction. Unless we resist to long.

Then the feathers will start to burn and become a thorn that never stop digging at our conscience.