April 18, 2008, Rescued

Rescued

Psalm 27:7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. 8 When You said, "Seek My face," My heart said to You, "Your face, Lord, I will seek." 9 Do not hide Your face from me; Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation. 10 When my father and my mother forsake me, Then the Lord will take care of me. 11 Teach me Your way, O Lord, And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies. 12 Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries; For false witnesses have risen against me, And such as breathe out violence. 13 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living. 14 Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!

"Ideal teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross, then having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create bridges of their own..." Nikos Kzantzakis, Living Loving and Learning by Leo Buscaglia.

Thank you for giving of your lives. Those who give of their hearts and see themselves only facilitators showing direction down life's roads. Giving what is needed in the moment of time like bits of permanent sweetness and jewels to remember and carry in the heart and will forever. And then letting go with an incomprehensible love to build our own bridges.

We know that this is not always the case there are teachers who sow seeds of pain and destruction (and if we are willing to admit we all do.) Teachers are in the classrooms of every aspect of our lives. First teachers being parents. And of course, my heart wanted to go here in the first place, at this time in my life and in many lives around me, the topic of parents and how they 'taught' us is emerging. When the 'mean, ugly' world out there hurts and abuses us, when our parents protect us and love us unconditionally, they teach us our value and how to love in the midst of it all.

On the other side of this, when we as children seek their love, protection and self worth constantly from our parents as our teachers, nurturers, and protectors and they are unable supply these essential needs (for whatever reason) and abandon, abuse and neglect (for whatever reason), our ability to give and receive love and value is damaged.

Anyone who took psychology first studied, Maslow's hierarchy of needs in which the development stages of a child cannot progress if there is a deficiency in the basic needs of:
Physiological which are food, water, sleep, etc.; Safety which are security of body, shelter, of the family etc,; Love/Belonging which are family, relationships and intimacy; Esteem which are confidence, respect for self and respect for others; and the progression of growth is fulfilled only when all these basic needs are met to Self Actualization which are morality, spontaneity, creativity, acceptance and the ability to problem solve.

Definition of self-actualization, is the instinctual need of humans to make the most of their abilities and to strive to be the best they can. Working toward fulfilling our potential, toward becoming all that we are capable of becoming.

There is a time to face it all and the decision to do so brings both forgiveness of self and others. And ultimately we can move to know who we are (self-actualization) as a wonderful created being loved by God. We then can understand and participate in what Jesus called us to do in the greatest commandments of all.

Matthew 12:30 "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."

And this video and song I love and it's worth repeating from the day before yesterday.
Because He comes and rescues us when we call Him, always.

Video & Song
'Came To My Rescue' Hillsong
http://youtube.com/watch?v=yAMbEPZfWCY