Category: Pain

Posted in Grief, Hypocrisy, Pain

The Mask of Hypocrisy

Posted on by The Adventures of Lady Esther & Mr. Doug

“I am so very deeply saddened upon hearing that the remains of 215 First Nation children were found at a residential school in Canada and that they believe there potentially may be bodies found at all residential schools that were set up by the Canadian government and so called “Christian” churches. I have not known how to express in words my feelings of this cultural genocide. My husband wrote this poem this weekend … it helps express some of my feelings. Oh what a wicked web was weaved.” (Lady Esther)

THE MASK OF HYPOCRISY

The mask of hypocrisy is tied on
with a string of self delusion;
Resting on a face of arrogance,
there is nothing real to that which is seen.

A carefully crafted act to deceive those about them;
One that is believed by the wearer and the naive.

A great calamity awaits them.
The tower of strength they have built shall crumble and fall.
They shall become lowly and humbled for their pride is a stench before man and God.

It is a terminal prognosis to the one who wears it.
Their soul is darkened by the lust of self glorification.
They sit and judge the vulnerable and true while they heap weights of contempt upon them.

© Douglas E Bliss

Posted in God's Plan, Grace, Grief, Kindness, Offence, Pain

SHUNNED

Posted on by The Adventures of Lady Esther & Mr. Doug

I feel the aura of disgust from you.
I have become a despised thing.

Loneliness consumes my very being; the silence is deafening.
I am utterly alone among many. Oh, wretched man that I am!
When will I be accepted?

When will this distain for my very presence serve it’s sentence out in full and declare me free from the chains of contempt?

My face I cannot behold, for it is veiled in shame.
My hope has poured out of me as a fine wine has spilled upon the dust of the earth and is no more.

But You Lord saw me and had compassion for me.
You have rescued me from this pit of despair.
You have not turned Your face from me.
You alone are my salvation.

You alone have redeemed me from disdain.
This shame has been lifted from me in Your love.

My accusers are no more.

Ⓒ Douglas E Bliss

Posted in Fear, Grief, Pain, Wash

The Creature in the Laundry

Posted on by The Adventures of Lady Esther & Mr. Doug

Last weekend while sorting laundry, a creature ran across the clothes in my basket and disappeared into the depths of my growing laundry pile.  Four inches long with brown prickly legs was enough cause for me to drop the clothes in my hand and race to the upper level of the house.  I could not return to the laundry until my husband would go with me and find the ugly creature.

Doug found it amusing.  He searched through the clothes and found nothing.  From my description, he was sure I had seen a caterpillar.  Where I am originally from, New Brunswick, caterpillars are small, fuzzy and cuddly.  You let them crawl on your hand.  Not this thing!  This was a creature not a sweet little friend.

We all have laundry in our lives; we are human and imperfect.  When we sort through our laundry to take it to the washer, we sometimes find things that scare us and cause us to run and hide.  We cannot give it to the washer to let Jesus wash clean because we cannot face the pain. Our laundry remains hidden and not dealt with.

The only way for our laundry to be washed is for us to acknowledge it is there, pick it up and give it to Jesus. Just like I needed Doug to help me face the creature, you may need someone to walk alongside of you to help you face your fear and pain. Someone who will help you face your laundry so you can pick it up and take it to Jesus.

Ask someone you trust to go with you to the laundry and help you to get it to the washer. Someone who will walk alongside you and help you so you can face the creature.  

Make sure that the person you get to help will love you in spite of your laundry.  You don’t need condemnation. You need a “Jesus” to sit by you like He did with the lady at the well, and acknowledge your ‘creature’ with such kindness and love that you will want to tell your whole community about Him.

In some situations, you may need to go to a Christian counselor for help.  Just get the help you need. It is so worth it. We have the best washer there is, Jesus!  His laundry comes out sparkling clean.  He washes with the sunlight of His love; the best detergent ever.

The truth will always set you free. Don’t let an ugly creature stop you from getting washed.

“Our sins are washed away and we are made clean because Christ gave His own body as a gift to God. He did this once for all time. Hebrews 10:10-12 (NLV)”

~ Lady Esther