Message "Lessons From the Source"

I am a Facebook friend with Jack Armstrong, author of "Lessons from the Source," which is one of those amazing auto-written books.

Like Conversations with God and A Course in Miracles, the writings in Lessons from the Source were received by Jack Armstrong from an unknown inner source and transcribed through a form of channeling known as Inner Dictation.

Today he posted a piece of a chapter from his book, in response to the many messages he's been receiving about his wife's illness.

I thought it was worth sharing...

This has been my spiritual journey for the past few years, recognizing that there is a golden nugget of learning and wisdom in every single thing that happens in our lives...every encounter, every event, everything matters and has something good to teach, bless and enrich us. The challenge is to actively look past the immediate impression of disaster and find the blessing instead. My constant prayer lately has been to be able to see the world and my own life through the eyes of God, to see that ultimately all works out for good. My daily mantra since my diagnosis has been "God is with me, all is well" and have been experiencing tremendous peace and inner strength.

It's one of the most enriching lessons I've learned from my years here at BWS...to search always for the positive, and to be always grateful for everything in my life because everything has the potential for growth and blessing. Not always easy, 24/7, when life throws such catastrophic curves my way, but it's still my quest and my journey to fumble through the rubble and see blessing instead of ruin.

Eagle Heart,

So well said!

You have a fantastic point of view on life, one that is hard for most people to comprehend. I know that as a result of your faith and your attitude, you are going to come out of this latest challenged enriched and stronger.

What a lesson to have learned from your time as a part of the BWS community.

Anne

This is indeed a difficult lesson. Eagle your words are wonderful. I've been struggling with this very issue for over five years now. I lost someone I loved to the extreme and have been arguing with God about why He didn't heal her and her circumstances, which were truly unfair. I love God but am hurt and devastated by this whole ordeal. I'm reading books by others who prayed long and hard, yet their prayers went unanswered too. I'm feeling ostracized by the world and forgotten by God, on one hand. On the other hand, I'm trying to glean some good from all
this garbage and find a silver lining behind a dark, dark cloud. So here we go: Thank you God for this miserable nightmare!

Jabber, I went through the same thing after my brother died. I was SO SURE that God was going to heal my brother that I refused to leave his bedside even after he had died in my arms...I was sure that God was going to send him back. I was devastated beyond words when it became clear that he was really and irrevocably gone. And I became so enraged with God, because I believed at the time (and still find it difficult not to believe) that He had given me every indication that everything would work out to good...which I took to mean "healing". I was disillusioned, bitter, furious and, boy, did I let God have it...I raged at Him, I accused Him of misleading me, I threw every swear word, all my bitterness, everything in my heart at Him. I swore I'd never believe or trust Him again.

And then things started happening. Little things. Tender loving things that were unmistakenly His doing...He knew I'd know it, and He was relentless in it. I think I shared here about my mended jeans...I didn't share it with too many people because it seemed so absurd, but it was by far the most tender moment I've ever had in my entire life with anyone. The short version is that my favourite pair of black jeans had a hole in the knee, put there by a relative's dog. When I packed the jeans in my suitcase, I noticed that the hole was getting bigger, and frayed, and remember thinking to myself that I'd have to figure out a way to mend them soon or the hole would be too big. The next morning, I took the jeans out of the suitcase and put them on. Went downstairs to the full length mirror, and screamed...the hole was completely gone! Hubby remembers the hole (he was there when the dog put it there). Both knees were perfect, not even a thread out of place...no sign whatsoever that there had ever been a hole there.

I was beside myself, because I KNEW Who had done it, but couldn't fathom why. So I asked Him...with all the sorrow and catastrophies in the world, why would He bother to mend a silly pair of jeans. His answer was clear, as if He was in the room with me. He said, "Because you were starting to believe that I didn't care about you. I want you to know that I care about everything about you, right down to the hole in your favourite jeans. You will not be able to explain this away. You will never again be able to say 'God doesn't care about me', because these mended jeans will always be a clear and indisputable reminder to you how much I truly care about you - you are Mine, I love you more than you can imagine, and you can talk with Me about anything - there is nothing - NOTHING - that is too small or insignificant."

This moment changed my life forever. I realized once again that true Love really doesn't depend on what a person does or doesn't do...I love God, not for what He does or doesn't do for me, I simply love Him for Being, the same way He loves me. That's a totally different level of love. I still have questions, I still get angry at His silence, I still don't understand - but I know without doubt that He does care and that somewhere in the midst of the chaos and pain, He's working it all out according to a bigger picture that I can't see yet.

You are not ostracized by God...and I know that He must be trying to find ways (He'll use anything and everything to break through) to show you that He's still and always will be your God...pure Love lives for the beloved...somewhere in all your chaos and pain, He's rooting you on and loving you through this.

Oh Eagle, That is a wonderful story. I have heard people talk about miracles they have experienced in their lives, but hearing about yours humbles me and brings tears to my eyes. Again. As miracles do every time I learn of them.

Twenty-some years ago, I got involved in a national movement called Cursillo. I won't go into it in detail, bur here is a link to a website about the movement: National Cursillo and here is more about the Episcopal "flavor" of it Episcopal Cursillo which is the group I was a part of - and whose goal is to renew and deepen Christian commitment.

Attending these events is where I began to hear so much about miracles -- and began to be just totally blown away by the miracles ordinary people told me about. I'll never forget one man who told of his stage three cancer - and how when the surgeons went to operate it was totally gone. Or of the orthopedic surgeon who told of literally watching a patient's leg grow three inches, which resolved the problem of one leg significantly shorter than another.

Big or small, I am sure most of us have experienced a miracle or two in our lives.

But they never cease to awe me when I hear of them.

Thanks for sharing your story about the hole in your favorite jeans. It's awesome.

Anne, I cannot resist - de colores! I was very involved in the Cursillo movement...made my cursillo in 1976 or 1977, and then was involved for many years afterward. I was also entrenched in the Catholic Charismatic movement from 1976 through the 1990's. Oh what amazing wondrous memories of those years!!! So many of the things I saw and experienced in those years are the foundation of my current spirituality and continue to bring me strength...the mere memories still ripple through to today, inspiring new hope and encouragement. When anyone ever asks me when my favourite chapter of life was, I always immediately think to those Charismatic/Cursillo years. I pretty much lived, ate, breathed and slept "Spirit" in those days. Very joyful. Sometimes I yearn for the spiritual newness of those years. But so much has happened...it's still there at the root of who I am, but it's been a long time since I've felt that joy that made me feel like I was soaring across the universe.

I don't believe that prayers are not answered; sometimes the answer is 'no'

De Colores, Eagle!

I am delighted to find someone else on the forum who has experienced the Cursillo movement. I made my cursillo in the fall of 1983. I am positive about the year because it was just after I got divorced, and I am sure the reason I made it through that period of my life was through MY involvement in the cursillo movement.

Like you, I have many wonderful memories of that time. I have fallen away from attending ultreyas since the late 90's, but like you, my experiences during that time form the foundation of my current spirituality, faith and "walk."

I encourage anyone who wants to develop their spirituality to find out more about this movement, which began 50 years ago in Spain. While its origins are in the Roman Catholic church, there are now Episcopal and Presbyterian Cursillo programs.

Here's a link from the Presbyterian Cursillo website which explains more about its history. History of Cursillo

Eagle,
Thank you. I know you're going through difficult times yourself. And for you to take the time to steer me towards God, is wonderful. I love God, always have, always will. But my friend was the most fantastic human to ever walk the earth. She loved God and worked endlessly for Him, being an ambassador for Christian outreach. That's is why, when I realized she'd been tormented for probably the last 20 years, I began fighting with God. Why God? Why? When I get to Heaven, I'll ask Him. I did read about your jeans, Eagle, a while back. It's an awesome story. And Groovy always reminds me how much God loves each and every one of us. I believe that too. And I also know God defeated evil. That's what keeps me going: I believe in God. The enemy doesn't. I know, therefore, I've won the war! And I'll join my friend in Heaven, forever and ever, AMEN!

Anne,
It's so nice to know our "Commander In Chief" is a Christian.
That's a warm, fuzzy feeling!

EagleHeart, your posts always move me. I too try to find the blessings but sometimes they elude me, especially mean or hateful people.

The blessings are the little flowers that grow along our path. Sometimes we walk straight ahead and don't even see them, but sometimes those flowers are what shed light on the right direction.

Me too Meredith. I do know that one of the more valuable lessons I've learned in life is that whenever there's someone in my life who really irritates me - a thorn in the side kind of person - it's ALWAYS because something about that person reminds me of something in myself that I don't like or haven't been able to deal with yet. As soon as I find myself "irrationally" disliking someone, I know now to determine what it is about that person I don't like, then look into myself and sure enough, I'll find that character trait or issue right there inside of myself - then I know what I need to work on. It's amazingly accurate.

As for mean and hateful people, I can usually at least bring myself to pray for them and for the people their hatred touches. I don't have to allow their toxicity to infect me, and I try not to be in constant proximity to hatred. Everyone has a story, and I know that God knows what's in the heart and story behind any person's cruelty...I can only pray for healing for that person, and healing for myself tooo, so that I never become that bitter or hateful myself.

Ms. Divine,
I love noticing the flowers and trees and birds, etc. It's amazing how beautiful the world is.

Eagle,
I think the thing that hurts the most, is seeing those you love being destroyed by hurtful folks. I try to be sincere when praying for evildoers. I do a lot of praying, I know that.