Speak of the Devil

This morning I had the pleasure of sitting on a wood chair on a large hill looking over at the gorgeous rolling hills, pine trees, wildlife, colorful fields, and cute little country houses in Bastrop Texas. When you are bogged down by things like work, school, everyday funk, and/or social networks, outside is the place to go. There's almost no better remedy than sitting in silence before a beautiful, natural scene. Mine wasn't necessarily in silence, I mean, I was singing, but it was silent for me, ha.

Anyway, lately I've been thinking about our modern world's standards and how they basically suck big time. Yeah. I've come to realize that what my mom said about how the corruption in this world  affects us is way too true. She said for us believers there are two traps the Devil tries to force on us. One is we can look at sin and become so exposed and used to it that we become desensitized and eventually join with the others. This way we won't be able to hear what it is God's telling us to do because we become deaf and we won't be able to tell the difference between right and wrong. The second trick is to cause us Christians to fall into despair. We are so saddened and depressed at where the world is  that we are constantly focused on the negativity and the works of the Devil. It will strip away the liberating joy that only God can give. Through this we eventually become blind because our mindset is way off track.

Both of these tactics are equally dangerous. They will make us totally unaware and unable to recognize what is good. No matter what happens, remember that there is still good in this world. God doesn't want to put on some sort of big show like Satan, but just because it seems like God isn't quite as "out there" as the Devil doesn't mean that He's silent or not there at all. In fact, God is more "there" than anything!! Hey, it doesn't have to be complicated, you just need to learn to see and hear. If you're not sure how, just begin by noticing the small things, like when someone smiles or helps someone else. You can also do small things. After all, St. Therese (the little flower) said herself: "I can do small things with great love". There is also humor, laughter, and hope. These things are so simple, but they do wonders for the soul. 

He is everywhere. He is with you. You just have to be with Him. If the Devil doesn't like it, well, he can sit on a tack. :P

 R.I.P. Johnny Hart. Hope you're laughing hard up there in Heaven.