Still standing
Dec. 22 2022
Just a few days ago, I was in North Carolina, and I was at a party hosted by my mom and sister. My mom had specifically requested that we take a family photo sometime during the party, so when everyone was there, I asked my mom to take the chair, so all of us could gather around her.
“OH No way” she said. “I want to stand in the photo, right beside everyone else”.
So I took the picture with my phone, and notably, my mom was standing, and everyone else, was also.
A few days later, I realized how that day was indicative of the role of “motherhood” itself, and how it is also, “still standing”. In spite of the sad state of affairs, the attacks on motherhood, and in spite of the loss of so many people whom my mom has known and loved, throughout her own motherhood, she is still standing.
She, motherhood, is not only standing, she is thriving. She, like my mom, is leading, by example, and her virtue, and attitude of prayer and service, are exemplary.
My mom is the strongest example I know, of what faith in the face of adversity, produces. And the adversity causes her to reach higher and trust God more. Big adversity requires big faith, big prayer, and big reliance on God. And she has all of these, and she is still standing. Nothing evil can defeat her.
My mom is good, and there is no unintended evil consequence of good. Good is the only consequence of good. She is a rock of strength for mothers everywhere.
The walls around our family core values, are also still standing.
The walls of our home, that protect our children and their beautiful innocent minds, are also still standing.
The walls that provide a home for church family are also still standing.
The virtual walls composed of individuals, who define and defend our republic, and the basic principles of freedom and justice and what it stands for, are also still standing.
Motherhood, she is so strong, in fact, that the “gates of hell” shall not prevail against her.
Jesus is born at Christmas. Herod and his evil plan did not destroy the good of the baby Jesus. Jesus is the consequence, and Good prevails, no matter what Evil does.
I love this quote in the bible, where Jesus talks about Peter and his church, providing such a strong foundation that “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”. In other words, Hell is a one way gate, it cannot come in, it can only trick us to go out…and it has no power to make us act.
What are the gates of hell these days? Are hell’s gates what is marketing rampant greed for government giveaways, so that this country and it’s assets are being bought and sold by the money changers, causing skyrocketing inflation?
Has greed created that “hell”? But we can shut that “gate”. Our debt is already paid, and we already have what we need, without greed.
Are Hell’s gates the “facilitation” at the border that allows in criminals, drugs and disease? Has political greed created that “hell”? Yes we can also shut that gate…In the bible story of Christmas, all the people went home, to their place of birth to register, which I believe is an intended consequence.
Or are Hell’s Gates, any individual or company, who markets injectables, and then profits from mandates, that force populations to accept these injections. Is that need for money and power at others expense, a form of self induced “hell”? I believe we can shut down “Gates”.
Or are Hell’s gates, those self serving beliefs, holding that those, on both ends of the age spectrum, both the very old, and the very young, are legally (but immorally) dispensable,(and yet it is murder). Laws that are evil gates, are being shut down.
I call all of these Hell’s gates, because hell cannot prevail against good…and unfortunately, those in the throes of hell, have walked through the gates of their own accord, because Hell cannot come in.
My mom, stands fast, is not deceived, she is not misled and she is still standing like a rock or foundation. “Stand fast therefore, in the liberty where with Christ has made us free, and be not entangled in the yoke of bondage.”
It is NOT the roll of mothers, or women, to see babies or the elderly as “bondage”, as the “unintended consequence” of doing evil, is to experience evil. The bondage that we are not supposed to be entangled in, is the bondage of doing evil, such as murder, theft, deceit, etc. THESE are the gates of hell that have unintended consequences. There is no unintended evil consequence however, to doing good.
And so if children and the elderly are not actually putting us in bondage, what is “bondage”? Is it any material, that pretends to be useful to us, but is deceptive and dishonest and has consequences that are the opposite of good? That which we have to have, at all costs, puts us in bondage and those choices to accept evil, can take us through the “gate” of unintended consequences.
Recently my son and I were talking about “fair use”, a term used to describe how copyrighted material cannot be reproduced. And I thought about how those who wanted this law implemented, could profit from their own creation.
But as consumers, if we think we “have to have” these copyrighted materials, we are in bondage to those creators. There is nothing wrong with creating things and making a living as an entrepreneur, but who wants to be in bondage? That which we believe we have to have, controls us.
In contrast, to the products covered and protected by the fair use law, there is nothing preventing mankind from reading, reproducing, learning and benefiting from, the bible. It is free and it is phenomenal.
Responding to the bible lessons, which are there for everyone to access, is a gift and costs us nothing. Not only is the bible free, responding to its message does the opposite of putting us in bondage, (as opposed to accessing copyrighted material), and it is liberating. That is the beauty and only consequence of doing good, which is to receive more good.
And the irony is that, though most free things are considered to be of diminishing value, the words in the bible are not only free, they are still in great demand, and produce amazing results, and continue to maintain high value.
That which is free, given to us from a God of Love, is indeed, of great value. It defines how we can experience heaven on earth, as “the lords prayer” tells us that God’s kingdom IS COME, or is here now.
And since it is here now, as this Christmas season is upon us, I echo the refrain from a popular Christmas song, thinking of the beautiful example of my mom, who is still standing…”Oh come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant…. Come and behold him, born the king of angels…
Mary was faithful, and was thus joyful and triumphant.
Good is born, yesterday, today and tomorrow. Babies and children and new life are all blessings and gifts and no matter what seems to be happening to destroy them, those who are doing good, are still standing.
