This Christmas season I have been specifically drawn to the teachings from the Heavenly Doctrine concerning the Lord’s spiritual light, and its brightness when He was born on earth.

Here are some passages that particularly stood out to me.

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; they who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, on them has the light given brightness.”
(Isaiah 9:2)

“All things were made by Him, and without Him was not one thing made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men…He was the true Light, which enlightens every man who comes into the world.”
(John 1:3-5, 9)

“The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined (Isa. 9:2); where “seeing a great light” signifies receiving and believing the truths which are of faith. On those who are in faith heavenly light is said to “shine,” for the light which is in heaven is Divine truth from Divine good.”
(Arcana Coelestia 3863)

I have been fascinated lately by the concept of “The End.” It is unclear to me how far that really is; or if it even exists?

As eternal beings we understand that life has no end; we move from one realm of existence, into another. We live in a series of beginnings, yet somehow our finite minds forces us to see ‘the end’ of it all. We plan our lives accordingly so we can be compliant to the unwritten rule that for every beginning; there must be an end.

Today I challenge this concept, I want to shift that perspective to help people see that an end is really a beginning for a greater purpose. I have graduated a few times in my life in many things: academia, marriage and divorce, motherhood, country women at all levels of government, and spirituality. With every graduation I believed that I had reached the end, only to discover a new beginning awaiting me on the other side of the story.

My life journey has taught me that ‘The End’ comes with excruciating pain that I must overcome to get to my new beginning. All of my graduations came with hard, focused and persistent work that required more power than I had on my own. I always had to leverage on my trusted relationship with my God to carry me through. Sometimes the pain was too real that I thought it would end me. It was in that TRUST where I could see that there really was no end; but a new beginning for a better, wiser and stronger me – every time.

The intangible trust has always pulled me through “The End.” It helped me learn about the world at a level that was deeper than most people; knowing and accepting that there has to be more out there. It was about listening to my inner self, about knowing when I had fallen short of my own potential. It continues to be about understanding and taking responsibility for my own successes and failures; it is really about knowing the truth about myself. The truth that I belong to an eternal God who has no beginning and no end; but is the beginning and the end.

The Intangible lesson—Trust can be taught

We speak about trust all our lives in our different relationships with people; and I’ve heard it a million times that “trust must be earned;” but never have I heard that trust can be taught. Trust is a feeling just like loyalty and love—it is intangible, so yes, it can be learnt. Trust in the Almighty and His Word is the first step to realising that just like Him we are eternal beings; we have no end, only beginnings.

I cannot believe how naïve I have been, looking outside of myself for the answers that were always inside of me. Thank you, God, for the clarity! For the alignment within me: my heart, head and hands now move in unison. My purpose is clear, all of my endings were bringing me closer to my life’s agenda. ‘The End’ of everything in my life was always awakening the best beginning for me. I am ready; let the next phase of my truth begin.

What?! That’s right, I said it: God doesn’t care.

I had this “A-ha!” moment while I was struggling with some external things in my life – namely, screen time for my eleven-year-old and healthy eating habits for myself and my family. In that moment I realised that God doesn’t care what we eat, how much we eat, or when we eat it. He doesn’t care how much time we spend in front of the screen or when we do it. He doesn’t care what we wear, what kind of car we drive, or any other of a litany of superficial aspects.

I struggle with parenting my child around screen time, feeling that he ought to spend the ‘right’ (not too much) amount of time on devices, at the ‘right’ (not before 7am nor after dinner) times. I struggle with a preoccupation with food, feeling that I ought to eat the ‘right’ (healthy, organic) foods in the ‘right’ (not too much) amounts, at the ‘right’ (not between meals nor after dinner) times, to the point that – my husband and I joke – I’m more likely to die of an illness induced by my toxic obsessing than of malnutrition! Continue reading God Doesn’t Care →

Forgive me while I be pedantic about language. But language matters. I have heard many people say that language evolves and while that can be true, it can also cause problems. I know that words like “cleave” have opposite meanings but can usually be figured out from context, but some things cannot be deciphered from context. “She was literally jumping for joy” could mean that someone was excitedly jumping up and down. Or it might mean that the person was just really excited but not actually jumping. Because literally can now mean figuratively.

Language matters. “Different” doesn’t mean “inferior”. Discrimination is not a bad thing. At least not according to the definition. It essentially means to “perceive a difference” or even “to use good judgment”.

But what about words like diversity and variety? We associate variety with flavors of donuts or colors, and diversity with people and opinions, but what do they actually mean?

The dictionary definition of “variety” is “the quality or state of having different forms or types.” Continue reading Variety vs Diversity →