Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: LOVE (agape and/or phileo) (03/12/15)
-
TITLE: The Arteries of My Life | Previous Challenge Entry
By Graham Insley
03/18/15 -
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES
Surprise, surprise, on the ground there are now many drops that have fallen off many surrounding leaves -- the ground is a puddle of massing water. A stream of life giving fluid has started to make a run for the ocean. Trees and other plants are birthed from the flow. Rainforests take shape and mountain lakes are formed. Fish and all sorts of animals find homes and food in every place touched by this river of life. But the flow increases.
Rivulets join together and constantly increase in size. What is fast becoming full of incredible strength now has the ability to change the face of mountains. Canyons are gorged out of solid rock and large waterfalls generate excitement and wonder.
But wonderment can soon turn to fear and dread. Rivers burst their banks, villages are swept away in flood and large packs of animals become stranded on small patches of ground. Stranded snakes bite their forced cohabitants. Wolves and other carnivores eat the weaker and become victims themselves to the stronger. Loss of life has become a part of the chain of events.
What started as a small, insignificant drop of moisture has become something so huge it has the power of life and death. Joy and happiness, grief and sorrow, are the result of an increasing torrent birthed in an instant of incredible smallness.
Such can be the start of true love. Such was the start of the love of God in my life.
The beginning was small and insignificant as I began to ponder on His existence. Was He real? Was there really a 'Someone' out there? Without real conscious effort, I became a little more aware of His reality, only to then ignore Him for days as I went about my selfish life. One moment wooed by His creation and obvious essence, the next lost in the pursuit of personal gratification and wealth. Like the small drop of rain, a flow of life giving love was about to begin an incredible journey, but I was unaware of its presence.
The fullness of His love burst into my life with an explosive force, just like that huge volume of water crashing over Niagara Falls, on the day I came face to face with the reality of self. My sin and vile behaviour had overtaken everything. I'd lost my wife, my business was bankrupt and consequence had become my reality. Attending one of the largest pity parties I have ever thrown, I tried to take my own life. I woke four days later in Intensive Care to find that death had actually come to visit -- what had started to die was my old man and a new one was being birthed in his place.
Like flowing water journeys from the top of a mountain to the ocean, I have begun an expedition of faith. Sometimes a trickle, sometimes a runnel and every now and then a flood, belief in God is transforming my life as His love becomes more and more real.
Although hard to understand, or even accept at times, what started out as a small, insignificant awareness of a Heavenly Father has become my whole life's driving force. His love brings life to every part of my existence. New understanding of how to relate to others, and the desire to reflect His love into their lives, has changed so much for me. But again, like the burst banks in the torrents of nature, death also comes with the flow.
Each day, a new revealed part of my old character comes to an end. Past hurts and angers die as peace and understanding are born and I am transformed by the power of His love -- a love that now flows like a life giving river through the arteries of my life.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
Accept Jesus as Your Lord and Savior Right Now - CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.
Inspiring and almost poetic sounding. Beautiful truths throughout.
God bless~
I loved this piece.
God bless~