The Four Seasons Of Promise

There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away. The first son went in winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son went in the fall. When they had all gone and returned, he called them together to describe what they had seen.

The first son said the tree was ugly, bent and twisted.

The second son said it was covered with green buds and full of promise.

The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful. It was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.

The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each only seen one season in the tree's life. He told them you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season. That the essence of who they are, and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from life, can only be measured at the end when all the seasons have passed. If you give up when it's winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, and the fulfillment of your fall. Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest. Don't judge life by one difficult season. Persevere through the difficult patches and better times are sure to come in time.

Aspire to inspire before you expire. Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. And leave the rest to God. Happiness keeps you sweet, trials keep you strong, sorrows keep you human, failure keeps you humble, success keeps you growing, but only God keeps you going.

Thank you CLAUDIA, who sent this lesson, for being a very important part of the seasons of my life.

FACEBOOK, DATING, GOD, AND ME

OK, I am officially horrible at blogging. My dedication and focus are completely hampered by my busy schedule and lack of motivation to talk about life while I am actually in the thick of LIVING it. I guess that's why I've NEVER been able to figure out how to TWITTER. My son started my twitter page and that's as far as it has gotten. People hit me saying they're following me and I wonder WHAT they are following because I am not entering anything. And, FACEBOOK, while easier to navigate is still a bit of a confusing world to me. MNy son promised to show me how to increase my privacy settings because I am not really thrilled with the friend requests from people I don't know. It really weirds me out especially when I send a message saying politely "I am sorry but do I know you and the reply is, no I am attracted to you." Great. I am engaged and not looking for a relationship of ANY kind on Facebook or ANYWHERE else. My interest in FB is that it allows me to interface with my young nieces and nephews, of which I have 13, and to say hello to people I haven't seen or heard from since elementary and high school. I am open to God using me as a vessel of ministry in that way and I think we should all see our growing world of electronic communication as a greater opportunity for outreach for God's purposes. Not to find a date. That seems rather meaningless to me. Unless, of course, you're single and I get it.....but honestly, if you are single here's my word for that:

Give it to GOD! Not FACEBOOK. I was single. I actually loved being single when I got confident in my own journey. I always had boyfriends or a boyfriend and I have always been able to have the attention of guys....BUT...when God's not in it what is it? It's a man made relationship, based in flesh, that I promise will not satisfy the deepest need of our souls to be truly connected to someone with a deeper purpose in life than the flesh allows. Our flesh doesn't allow for deeper purposes. Only our spirits rooted in God can do this. It is the deepest connection we have with someone once the deeper purpose of a relationship is solidifed in Christ.

I used to hear people say that there should be 3 people in a marriage, You, Me, and God, and now I get it. Without the Lord at the center of our relationships nothing will ever really stick or bind or satisfy. When you know that you share a common faith and you both submit to that common faith God can do miraculous things in your union, your household, and your family. That's why the enemy, Satan, the Devil, call him what you will....has so bastardized the male-female relationship today. He has made sex casual, easy, and justified it in our minds as truly something simple to obtain. He has given us drive through commitments, just as easily entered as gotten out of. He has given us FACEBOOK and the internet and a whole of of misuse of the medium by predators and idiots truly living in the flesh. And, if you are married, he has made cheating and adultery OK and even glamorous. Look at Brad and Angelina or my girlfriend Cynthia, whose husband AROD cheated with Madonna, and as long as he has a good season at bat, no-one ever says 'Boo you liar, adulterer, and jerk.' No, The famous hubby moves on to the new girl and the world forgives, applauds, and cheers...literally. Satan has completely deceived us into believing a lie.

God created sex for marriage. And, anything less is taking pieces of yourself and throwing it in the trash. You will get sick with loneliness, emptiness, sadness, and pain eventually. That guy or that girl will not show up when you really need them at the times you really need them because 9 times out of 10 he or she didn't sign up for the real deal; they signed up for the fun deal. In the beginning it will feel good. The game is exciting and fun and the thrill of the chase is like a drug. In the end you will experience all of the former; drama and disappointment. And, in some cases, with the whole world watching.

Remember this: Hell ALWAYS feels like Heaven when you're walking in the front door.

So, the next time you are tempted to FRIEND me on Facebook and you are just a single guy with some weird attraction to ANYTHING other than Christi in me... PLEASE spare me the email clutter, because unless you are rooted in the Lord and His Word, or looking to be rooted in the Lord and His Word and in that case call a Pastor first, I am not interested in being your friend.

Annoyed Black Female signing out for now! Peace, from your resident Hip Girl on her road to a deeper spirituality for her FACEBOOK community of friends.