Meditating to Heal

God loves me, unconditionally, and I put my complete trust in God, knowing that I am a faith-filled, loved child, a loving child. As a mere mortal, I devote my life to following His commandments for they are Truth for Life. God, the Father, gives me Love, self-discipline, and the power necessary to do His bidding, those things He wants me to do with my life. I gladly serve God for His abundance is eternal and is meant for every living soul.

there is no Rock like our God. (1 Sam 2:2)”

The Bible invites us to trust in God; can we do any less? Our mortal lives are filled with trouble, disappointment, and violence. We live in this uncertain world, as did Jesus. He prevailed; we can also. Our words and our deeds can show others who God truly is; we can be assured of His Love and protection forever. We pray not only for the strength to prevail in this troubled world, but for the knowledge that we (all humanity) will be delivered from our trials and given the strength to overcome them. We can only do this with God.

With the knowledge and strength of the Holy Spirit within us, we deliver the sweetness of God’s purifying water of life. We unite the Goodness of God with the strength of our eternal lives to bring Love, Truth, and eternal Life to all. . . just as God promises. God is our Rock.

©Russell Kendall Carter

Spirit, (the true Spirit), is the sustenance of mankind. None of us can be here without this Truth. My life is a result of the wondrous grace of Spirit. My body may pass from this earth, but I am spiritual and eternal. God teaches me that I am neither disposable nor material, because when He created me, I am forever!

Spirit leads me to love, cherish, and aid others. Thus, Grace is in action always and all benefit. Spirit leads me in all that I say and do throughout the day. It is in this framework that God invites me to help those I meet. And the longer I do this, the more I live to this level of spiritual beauty, all of God’s Creation shows itself to humanity. God’s Life and Love are no longer hidden from us; they are visible to all who see.

As a child of God, I live in the Truth, Life, and Love of His creation; I am forever bonded to God through Love and Grace and am therefore eternally bonded to all in humanity. I look around me and I see darkness and despair, due to mankind’s shortsightedness, and yet I see beauty in all things because God’s Spirit is present. I bring the mortal wounds of society to God’s healing hands. He allows me to breathe deeply for He knows that with my love, our love, of the Spirit within all of us that all will be well.

We are children of God and therefore have the Spirit of Love and Truth within us. Let us recognize the beauty we share.

©Russell Kendall Carter

I went to bed defeated last night;

I know not why.

I awakened feeling abandoned,

confused and alone am I.

I went to bed empty, and

in my broken mind do I lie.

 ©Russell Kendall Carter

The old saying is “Silence is golden;” but silence is also Godly. For it is when we are silent that we hear the whispers of God in our lives. When we are silent, we hear the response to our prayers because God is present in our silence.

But silence is also important in our daily lives, interacting with those around us. I often wonder if people stay silent to really listen to what others are saying, or if they are only thinking of a response. How can we respond to others unless we listen to them? And, sometimes listening for what the bodily position is. Silence is patience and therefore creates a space for Wisdom.

God is Wisdom and when we create this space, our silence allows reflection and compassion. Compassion then brings in a time of vulnerability as we courageously surrender ourselves to others, to God. By surrendering to silence, every cell in our body is actively involved; as difficult as this seems, we feel God enter calming us as our outward persona then emits a tenderness only present when God is present.

I listen; the presence of silence engulfs me; and God takes control.

©Russell Kendall Carter

In the Old Testament, God often speaks of love. In Hosea, “When Israel was a ^[a]child, I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son. (1:1)” this is Divine Love that only God can give. We are God’s creation; we are His children. We are called to Love. When we love, we find no limitations on our life and none on our actions for it is at this time that we are indeed God’s perfect children.

Jesus reminds us that Love is all that matters; it is the only commandment. We cannot walk on God’s path of life without recognizing His Love and our commitment to His Divine Life. Our miracle is God’s Grace in our very core. It is the basis of God’s Love for us, our Love of God, and our love for each other. This is the shining light of Love; this is the shining light of our lives.

There is no other existence than living with God’s Love. All other imitators are falsehoods. They cannot last with the test of time nor the test of trial. They are not the Divine Principle of Love that God gives us, and Jesus invites us to share. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. (Psalm23:4)” I walk on the path of God’s Divine Love.

©Russell Kendall Carter

I often pray, asking God to hold me in His loving hands; in return, God asks me to hold Him in my hands, saying, “Russ, use your hands for good; use your hands to serve others.”

When I promised to do so, my life changed; I became a servant for all humanity. It is only through acknowledging that God is my guide that I am able to cast off the frailty of my mortal existence with its aches and pains and physical limitations of age. This also allows me to continue the work God has for me. I can only serve people through love and caring, understanding and patience. I cannot project ignorance or violence, a lack of hope, nor can I withhold the love in my heart for whomever I am with.

God’s perfect work in us never fails; only we can deny its existence. We are not living alone; we are here to honor our commitment to God and to Jesus by loving one another as we love ourselves and as we love God. We are community! The work we do together is the work that God wants of us. We join hands, together, as children of God to live in His prefect world.

 ©Russell Kendall Carter

So says the Lord; we are blessed by His caring. Revelation is a wonderful recitation to study over and over. There is always something new that tweaks my attention and gets me closer to God. The Lord commanded these five words for you and for me. This is a recognition of life evermore, eternal. True Life is God. And we are always with Him and He with us.

God through Jesus is the light of our world; this cannot be disputed. All goodness comes from God, bringing us a life of pure light and comfort. We walk this glory path with the knowledge that God is the only life given to us, with Grace, no strings attached. God only askes that we give rebirth to the ancient Hebrew custom of welcoming the stranger in our midst. Jesus says this when asking that we love our neighbors.

We come together as the body of Christ when we hold each other in love, not derision. Each breath we take as a loving community brings us closer to a productive and serene life of love and caring, just as God wishes for us, just as He offered in the Garden. God’s plan is for the gifts that we are lovingly given be shared. We cannot have all the talents; we rely on others for what we cannot do. We are stronger together!

We seek God when we attend our worship services forgetting that God’s face is on each person we meet in life. His strength is shared by us when we love together. For when we live and love together, God makes all things new.

 ©Russell Kendall Carter

There are times in my life when I have been in despair, as we all have experienced. It is during these times that I have waited patiently for God to step in and help me, but I seemed to wait in vain. I thought that all doors were closed to me. In my trauma, I was not content with my life; I was impatient.

But that is in my time, not God’s time. God does feel me cry; He never disappoints; as I have faith, so He shares His faithfulness with me. I am blessed. When I cast aside all hostile and unpleasant thoughts, the doors always open. For with God, all is within reach for me. As I relax in God’s comfort, I am again content with my life.

As I give aid and comfort to my brothers and sisters, they give me hope and comfort in return. This is the blessing of God. As a good neighbor, we all help each other though the tough times, spiritually, mentally, and physically. When we do not exhibit love for our neighbors, it is then that we are closed from the comfort of God’s compassion. It is our misdeeds that causes separation from God.

All that I have comes from God; I cannot truthfully horde what is given to me. Every time I am knocked down by societal life, there is always a Good Samaritan to lift me back to life. My resilience is at the hands of others, given by God. What a blessing! What true salvation! Each of my breaths are from God; each of my encounters with others are from God; when I walk with God, I am in right relationship with God’s creation. . . Earth; when I walk with God, I am in right relationship with God’s greatest creation. . . humankind.

This is Salvation. . . This is Blessing!

©Russell Kendall Carter

God is Love, Amen!

This is such a simple concept to wrap our weary and over-stressed brains around. We would not be here without this Love. God gives us unending Love and yet we expect more. . . always. We are never satisfied with what we have. We are trained from birth to want more and to work for more in our less than spiritual society.

Are we worthy of this eternal Love? Are we worthy to be called children of God considering all the greed we own, the forever unkindnesses we spew at our neighbors? Of course, we are because God loves us unconditionally.

Each of us, that is all of us, is given unconditional Grace as a gift of life. This is from a loving God who cherishes our very existence. Can we ask any more? Each of us brags of the charitable deeds we do but ignore the selfish and unpleasantries we do. We take possession of our deeds, good and bad, recognizing that we are mere mortal beings and are flawed. And, if we try to rise above our imperfections, which God has made us able, nothing can interrupt our ability to walk the lighted path paved by Jesus.

If we walk on the path created my man’s imperfect society, we are lost. But if we step off this barren roadway and onto the enlightened path of God’s Truth, we attest to our worthiness of being God’s children.

Let us walk worthy with God.

©Russell Kendall Carter

The most fully human love is brotherly (or sisterly) love; the Greeks called this Philia. It is not a sexual love, although it could become such. But more important, is a love shared by two people who have close ties, a close friendship. It could begin with two boys building sandcastles at the shore, (I remain forever a New Jerseyan; I cannot call it the beach!), or two girls playing with dolls.

My wife is fortunate to have such a relationship with a friend from before kindergarten. Now, seventy-three years later, they still talk on the phone. Theirs is a shared love that has lasted through the test of time and turmoil. I am so pleased and a little jealous that she enjoys this friendship. I am not privy to it, but I am sure that they still tell secrets they do not share with their husbands. This is true Philia, true everlasting love.

This is spiritual love; this is a love that lasts forever! This is the Love taught and preached by Jesus. It is the Love of Grace, patience, and charitable deeds. It is also the promise of “love thy neighbor.” Jesus taught us how to live a life of love. He held nothing back about the worth of people. When we have that special spiritual friend, we understand what Jesus taught. I have learned what and how Jesus taught the more difficult way; I never had that spiritual friend. I was too timid, too private a person to open myself to another person.

I am fortunate to finally understand how precious this is. This is not a common love; it is held special by God for special people. My love of God and all that God means for us has opened me to a ministry of love that allows me at least understanding and knowledge. I share this ministry with all. I am so happy when I see people sharing their spiritual friendship, their Philia. Praise God for Love.

©Russell Kendall Carter