Parlor.

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The parlor is usually our best place in our houses or rather where we try to make look the best. It's like a museum of sorts and memories we want to remember are locked up in various objects and pictures.

No one places their underwear in their parlor. No one puts the picture of the murderer who destroyed everything amidst the memorabilia. We love to keep it neat and tidy so that the visitors can come in, relax and ask lesser questions.

But the parlor would always tell a story whether we want it to or not.

And in the moment of instant confusion and delusion that leaves us wondering "what exactly am I doing with my life?" the parlor we try so hard to make into an utopia of sorts can become the hospital we need in such moments.

Cause sometimes it's a glimpse of the beautiful things and memories we made in the past on our shelves that remind us how far we've come.

Sometimes it's the fragments of the picture that was shattered as we begged them to stay that reminds us we indeed have the gift of perseverance and are fighters.

Sometimes whatever is on the shelf reminds us of the love we've invested, the grace we've shown and the many we've loved though our parlors might be presently empty. 

So don't box it in. Don;t throw away beautiful things simply because they remind you of the lover that left. On your way to the bin, make a U-turn and place them all back on the shelf and let your healing begin.

P.S.- Something in me argued "NO! it's the toilet" with the first line of this essay. LOL! What part of your house do you try to make look the best? I would love to hear from you :)

The Exorcism. [Close Your Eyes]

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As she screamed out and did a dance, the old man told us to take a step back. He sprinkled some water on her and she reacted like fire touched her skin.

“The sixth one just left her”

“The sixth?”  I asked. I had not seen the first one leaving. “How do you know these things?” I asked with my eyes wide as my gaping jaw.

“Two more to go.” The old man said just as if I had not said anything. “CLOSE YOUR EYES” He suddenly shriek so they don’t come into you”

So unlike Mary there were 8 demons in Susanna and water has done the trick in this case.

Sometimes we obey the exorcist, sometimes we say “who are you to tell me to CLOSE MY EYES?” and somehow both feels wrong.

Cause this is scientifically unexplainable.

Cause this is biblically unexplainable too, as a friend who goes to one of the modern churches once told me.

How do we explain the exorcism?

How do we explain the spiritual?

How do we explain animals becoming humans and humans becoming animals?

What is the explanation for the darkness and the supernatural?

We could act like nothing lies beyond the curtains of the dawn but we know we are trying hard at creating a utopia.

The darkness exists even if we try to dream it out.

The exorcism can occur and the old man can demand we close our eyes.

Then what will our reaction be?

I believe the supernatural is real

I believe the darkness is true

But when your neighbors are performing an exorcism, your level of peace is proportional to the level of truth you believe in. Some things are truer. Some things are realer.

You must know where you stand before you despise the darkness.

That some things happen in your neighborhood and not within your fence doesn't discard them as reality. Water flows from higher grounds to lower grounds.

You must know whose you are before you curse the exorcist who tells you to CLOSE YOUR EYES.

P.S. – 

This is extremely allegorical (names and events don’t mean exactly what they seem to mean. I’m tempted to leave it just like that and let every reader take away what they see but I guess I’m a partial artist so I will give some explanation.

We have a generation of people who despise the supernatural and sacred simply because they don’t understand it. This is not wise.

I love a thought by A.J. Jacobs (Editor at Esquire) after trying to live every nuance and direction in the Jewish old testament for a whole year (yes he tried to live the bible literally for a year). Paraphrasing him;

 Imagine if aliens came from space and saw us blowing off candles on a birthday cake, they will think we are nuts. That you can’t understand it doesn't mean it isn't beneficial. That you can’t comprehend it doesn't mean you shouldn't regard it”

I’m not sure A.J. Jacobs is a person of faith and he has something this profound to say of people and belief.

That said, I have seen some kick a beehive of the supernatural that in the first place had nothing to do with them and got into big trouble. This is not a warning. I am a writer and a lover and share things that come to mind. This is where I am for now. I write some things and it speaks to me too in a profound way and like a reader, I use a knife and fork to make my way through the plate of words too. Please do the same.

As a generation that seeks and is for change, we need to know that every battle brewing in the ‘ neighborhood’ isn't ‘your’ battle. Sometimes we need to close our windows and pray for the trouble to pass and times we need to stand at our door like giants and speak to the darkness.

“The blood of Christ is over this door. And You shall pass this one. I live on a higher ground. The higher determines where the water goes. Go away!”

As I end this I leave you with the words of Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil (a Professor of Cultural Reconciliation Studies @ SPU)

“Our name is not on every problem. We’re not supposed to engage everything. Every place where there is hurt and division and brokenness is not supposed to be my assignment. My job when I come into a community is one, to listen to the people who are there but internally to say to God, God you are at work. You're always working. Help me not to make a move until I discern what you are doing?”

The darkness is real.

But what is God doing?

He’s shining his light.

Calling you and I to be channels.

The darkness is real.

But what are we doing?

For now we need to let go of the urge to argue with the exorcist.

For now we need to surrender to what God is doing.

He's calling us

Do you hear Him?

Antique.

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I was before the world began
Made
Molded
Formed
Precious and for a purpose.

Somehow, I didn't get to know how I came and how I was
Definitions, forms, labels I picked up some
Now I am
But I was
I was

As l looked into the mirror, I saw who I was before the world began, who I was before I was born. I was a treasure but what happened to me?
How often we complain of the fire without looking into the mirror.
For what I saw in the mirror, I will go through the fire.
Antiques are kept for a certain time, treasures refined. These we are. These we were. This I am.
As I looked into the mirror, I saw who I was before the world began, who I was before I was born.
The Word was before the world began.


P.S.-

357 days later.


"Are you trying to stop the fire or allowing the fire bring forth the real you?"

I think you have a name beyond your twitter bio. I think you are so much more to be reduced to the labels handed out for a behavior, performance, lifestyle or addiction.

But can you hope and remain faithful? Can you reason stupidly that this fire, the one before you, the one you've been avoiding all your life would't leave you in ashes but turn into gold?

Today, I'm not settling for labels. I don't know if you're okay with them. Cause even the good ones tend to fade. "He is a rich man", what is he when he's gone? "She's curvy .  . . and that's sexy", what is she when she's old and grey?

Labels come in all shapes and sizes. Bad, good, straight, gay, trans, black, white but we are so much more. We are antique. We were before the world began.

I dare you to take a plunge into the fire.

Like the guy in the photo.

Stop trying to stop the fire.

Go through the fire.

I dare you.

I dare you because of the real you on the other side of the fire.

This Is Your Moment. [Don't Break Glass]

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When there's blood and pain and ache and tears. 
When it doesn't just seem hard but it's hard. 
When you're shouting at your wall and almost breaking glass. Hiding and telling your friends 'sorry I can't make it to that party' cause your eyes are red and swollen and NO, it can't be mistaken for make-up or a new colored  tattoo. 
When you scream 'why me?' to no one in particular, muttering 'this can't be happening to me' every nano second. Now that's the moment.

That's the moment you were born for cause it amplifies your true purpose, potential and super "giftedness".
If fighters never had a fight, how will they be named?
If soldiers never had a war, what will they be called?
Cause in the darkest places is when we can be light best.
In the toughest places is when we can show forth what we're made of.
And it's in the fire is when we can be the miracle baby and say after the day 'today, I walked through fire and did not get burnt'

Cause friend, you are a warrior, don't you know. You are more than a fighter didn't you realize. You were put on this battle ground because He believes in you.
You can, you can, it's no motivation, it's the truth. The truth about you.

So before you break glass, un-clench your fist and break fear. The moment you want to run from is the moment you were made for. So don't run. Stand and fight. Be here. Be totally here. Don't medicate.Like the heroes in our movies, conflict is climax. We are at the edge of our seats for that moment they get to face the bad guy. It's usually towards the end and everything that happened at the beginning points to this very point. 

Hero, yes you, do you feel like a Hero at all? But what if your reality was a dream and your dream is your true reality? What if? What if you woke strong and brought to life all that's been placed within you? What if you start now? Don't break glass, break fear.
 
Warrior, winner, fighter, overcomer, conqueror, those names aren't just fashion labels, they are who you are. The stage is set, climb. We are clapping cause we know you already won.
Yes this is your moment. 
Remind yourself you're a winner when you feel like a loser.
Don't break glass, break fear.