legendsloom

[legendsloom]

A Tale of Mothers Lost

(Part 3)

Reason - 3 Wisdom:

    The third thing that mothers bring to us is Wisdom. The early years are the most vulnerable to young and as such mothers keep them close. Words of don't and do fill the mouths of mothers the world over from dawn till dusk as they seek to build the foundation their children will need to live happy whole lives.  Even in nature we see mothers guiding their young on the paths they were taught when they too were young. The dangers are marked, the peril taught, and sometimes a painful lesson is allowed to occur so that future disregard for the danger is annulled. The mother bear takes her cubs to the ripest berry fields and the best places for salmon. She shows them the joys and pleasures of digging for fat grubs in the fallen trees, when and where to get honey, and which are the sweetest springs. The wealth of knowledge a mother can be to their child often goes unappreciated till it is gone. Mothers bring us wisdom. Often scorned or rejected by the very young, a mothers guidance can bring us to life and save us from certain death. If we have the will to harken to it we can avoid much pain and sorrow.

    How oft in our tale is it that our hero/ heroine has strayed away from the wisdom long known to them and wished that they had payed it more heed.  At times like this they are often revisited either by memory or dream with a further piece to help them back on their way. Evil often takes the mother during these formative years because of the impact that foundation can have on the rest of their life. Without this solid footing our hero/ heroine is left far more vulnerable to the whims of darkness.  However there is hope for our tale, wisdom has a lasting quality about it. Though forgotten or lost it can also be found.

Wisdom is a treasure, once found it has the capacity to sustain and even lead us to greater blessings than we had first had in view. The bible talks about wisdom in personification as a woman; how fitting that picture, it's a beautiful representation of all that a mother is. She stands in high places watching over those about her. Heeding her call will bring life ignoring it often leads to pain and death. In essence she is much like a lighthouse.

Lighthouses direct and warn, they stand between the peril and those who would fall upon it. Having just spent some time on the coast I had the privilege to visit a few lighthouses. Most were set on high places and often in view of deadly rocks or seas. One famous one stands on the high rocks of Peggie's Cove. Light shines out warning ships and boats to stay away from the dangerous rocks lurk glittering black beneath the seething waves. The ice cold water and wild winds make that coast one of the deadliest in the world. Tourist and locals alike flock to the high cliffs to see the lighthouse and watch the waves smash the shore. Down below the rocks change from a pale white to a dark almost black colour. These are covered in algaie and are very slick. Signs warn of the danger therein, and many people have been swept out to sea or dashed upon the rocks when they strayed onto these lurid rocks.  Every year several people die because they chose to ignore the warning of the lighthouse.

    So too it is in our stories the hero/ heroine has either lost this lighthouse or they choose to ignore its warnings. Sometimes evil will twist the light, bending it to it's wicked will and purpose. However they may yet be guided by the remembrance of some piece of wisdom passed on to them before the light went out. That is the power of Wisdom, the essence in a mothers guiding words. She has the power to shine long after the sea has swept our hero/ heroine away. A mothers wisdom will guide us long after they are gone. In our tales, Mothers truly are a force to reckon with. I think the reason our mothers are absent or even removed early on is because if they remained their influence and presence would make it impossible for evil to win. Often it is their legacy, that Lighthouse quality, and wisdom that turns the tale to right and helps our hero/ heroine win the day.

In conclusion; mothers nurture, they protect, and they guide us to safe futures. Evil is always at odds with that force and works hard to eliminate or remove that force from our lives, both in fable and in reality. The writers of our tales weather, conscious of this reality or not wrote their stories in a fashion to reflect it. In the bible it is expressed in the picture of eve and the serpent. Satan, as I've mentioned in previous posts, is violent towards Eve for many reasons. Her ability to rescue and come to the aid of those around her and save in times of peril is definitely one of many reasons he wants her out of the story. When we or our Hero/Heroins lose our mothers we are often left feeling adrift in a dark sea. 

The Truth is this: woman's nature, the power to guide, the deep wisdom; it's all a reflection of God's greater glory and wisdom. When we walk in step with him, we are connected to the true lighthouse the one that will never go out.  The connection of the mother in our stories, the wisdom transcending even death, is a glorious portrayal of our connection to THE Saviour, Jesus Christ. There is no power on earth or in heaven, no height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation that can separate us from that saving power. Satan tried to kill the life giver, he tried to steal us away from our connection to the nurture and care of the protector, he even purgers and twists the wisdom that we might fall upon the rocks and be destroyed. But He failed to put out the Light. God triumphed over death! He remains mighty to save! And his word shall endure, Wisdom spoken for all generations. It's now up to us whether we choose to live in that life, follow the light and remain connected to the life giver or not. The tale of Mother's Lost is one of a far more enduring classic; God's own Kingdom Call.

[legendsloom]

Crowned in Victory

Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, the Swan Princess, Jasmine,  even Belle; these are the stories we all grew up loving. The theme of all of these is a princess locked away in a tower or castle guarded by an Evil Dragon waiting for a prince or knight to come and rescue her. I have written before of this theme and called to the damsels to rise and be that Helper for her prince or knight. But what if it's a dragon he was never meant to fight at all!?

If you grew up in any religious or Church-ed background you have heard from the time you are in Sunday school to Wait for your Prince. The implied thing being that you wait in the tower or castle till he comes to rescue you. How did we get this so Wrong! As I contemplated this question I realized the truth:

What better for the Dragon than that the princess believe she is helpless against him. If she believes she is powerless she is no threat. A Princess in chains is a princess contained. She can't inspire, she can't save, she can't bring life. So long as the princess bows to the might of the dragon she will never be free. Any number of Knights or Princes may come to her aid but they will all leave battered and broken if they leave alive at all. If you haven’t read my post on What are we waiting for; you can read it here: http://legendsloom.tumblr.com/post/17024877036/what-are-we-waiting-for

The thing I have slowly come to understand is that you cannot wait for a prince to save you from your dragons. God created you as a glorious mighty force to be reckoned with.  In Revelation 12 who is it that the dragon is epicly locked in battle against among the stars? It isn't a man, it's a woman!  For years in Church doctrine Woman has been sidelined. She has been told she is demanding, overbearing, disobedient and most often a curse. Is it any wonder we fall so easily to the Dragon. This is what God sees; A Woman Dressed with the sun, the moon beneath her feet, and crowned with victory! Now if that isn't a glorious picture of  a mighty force I don't know what is. Is it any wonder the dragon wants to lock that up?

Now I am not saying that woman should be the head or above man in any way. What I am calling her to is her rightful place in God's kingdom. She was not created weak, incompetent, nor is she weaker than the dragon. She is Empowered by Christ to rise and do mighty things in his name. When we bow to our Dragon we lose sight of who God made us to be. This is where I found myself many years ago. The dragon I faced was one of fear and distrust in all close relationships. I had been wounded deeply by a young man within my youth group. I received gashes when my best friend of many years turned on me and it was as if I had never known her.  I received further wounding as I watch a man I looked to fall to the dragon of Lust. I heard the whispers; if you can't trust them then who? So I built walls, I placed stone cold indifference about my heart. I refused to let others in, and the dragon grew. It was dark, it was cold, and I was dogged by loneliness.

That's where God broke in like the dawn, He called me out of that dark place. Slowly I tore parts of the walls down and fitted the gaps with gates; they of course were thick, high and locked tight shut. I did give God a key for in Him, above all, I place my trust. As I looked beyond the walls of my keep, remembering the promise I had been given, I waited; still and quiet ever watched by the Dragon. I often thought, as the many years past, what brave soul would ever be able to conquer that Dragon. It was a Dragon of my heart and God was calling me to rise and defeat it. So I chose to face down the Dragon by turning to the one who has already defeated It.

If we look to the Bible we see that the dragon has already been defeated. The Prince of Peace Our King Has already won that war! We need only turn to Him and agree that He has done it for us! The Dragon loses all power when we abide in Christ. The Dragons we face; be they Fear, Anger, Pain, Heartache, Loneliness, Abuse, Abandonment and so on, only hold power so long as we bow to them. When we truly surrender to Christ we throw down our allegiance to any and all others. The Dragon is thrown out.  

This does not discount the healing that will need to take place from the wounding of the dragon. You can read my posts here: http://legendsloom.tumblr.com/post/17149431372/wounded

http://legendsloom.tumblr.com/post/17205479828/the-painful-path-to-healing

We are created mighty and glorious, a reflection of our creator. We have already been crowned with Victory. What an amazing picture! You are not a helpless damsel meant to await an earthly prince's arrival to vanquish a dragon that has overshadowed your life up till now. You are Free. Free in Christ to walk blameless and Pure, Dressed like the Sun! The moon Beneath your feet! Crowned with Victory!

[legendsloom]

A Tale of Mothers Lost

(Part 2)

Reason 2 – Safety:

Let me first preface this second point with the truth that a mother cannot always protect her child. Sadly, in our story parallel, this rings more true than we would like to admit. As mothers and caregivers we long to protect those innocents that rest within our sheltering care but we all too often cannot guard them against all the fouls of life. Though a mother would give her very life to do so, many times the child steps out of her protective care and that is when disaster strikes. How many of us were told “don't touch, it's hot” Or “don't climb on that you will fall and hurt yourself.” “Don't run ahead” then on tumbling feet tripped and fell on the loose stones, tearing open knees and hands; tears streaming with the blood, ending in a nasty sobbing mess.

Sure mothers do all they can to warn us of the danger, like a lighthouse sending out to ships a warning of the rocks ahead. However, far too often we are heedless of the warning; sure that in our limited understanding we know better. The beauty of a mother however is in her presence even after a warning; Ok, probably like 200 warnings, she still manages to swoop in and save us when we've once again crashed on the rocks. The truth of it is Mothers seem to posses an uncanny sense of when their children are in peril and for the most part are able to reach them in time to save them from certain destruction. Thus the issue of safety is arguably high on the list Evil has for taking mothers out.

That can at times be VERY difficult. There are many terror raising things in creation but weather you are a marauding hawk or a child trying to assist a lost chick there is nothing quite as fearsome as a mother protecting her young. The illustration of a mother bear is apt in it's loom in lore and truth. One cry from her cub, one signal that it is afraid and you had better hope you are no where nearby or you can kiss this world goodbye! Evil must tread light if it is to succeed in getting between the mother and her child. Sometimes it will try to replace the mother with another as in the story of Rapunzel but the ruse only lasts a short time before the truth comes out. Sometimes the only way it can succeed is by taking the mother out of the story! That says something incredibly powerful when it comes right to it. A mother can provide such safety that the ONLY way for evil to get anywhere with our hero or heroin is to first take out Mama.

In scripture Eve has been described as the Ezer Kenegdo, being the image of God; this we see, reflected in her, that same mighty protection.

“An ever present help in trouble” Psalm 46:1

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower, all who run in shall be saved!” Proverbs 18:10

“Those who call on the name of the Lord shall be saved!” Joel 2:32 , Acts 2:21 , Romans 10:13

These all reflect assurance and safety even in the mere Name of the one who's being called. Back to the bear illustration. One cry from baby that she's frightened, one whine of worry and the enemy knows the game is up. Mama doesn’t have to be in view and the enemy is running and all baby had to do was call. THAT'S Power! A power to reckon with, a power to know and tremble at. Our mother in our tale has that kind of power. Evil dares not even approach the kingdom for fear of it. Sadly as I addressed at the start of our discussion a mother cannot always protect her children. Regardless of how much or how well a mother is equipped and enabled to protect her young the choice to remain or enter into that protection lies with the child. Should they choose to wander outside her protection there is little she can do. The second half of Proverbs 18:10 and the following Luke 13:34 text speak to this very thing; A child must want to be protected. I suppose in reality they all speak to this for it is those who call who receive the answer. Listen to Jesus words; how well they reflect the longing of a Mother's heart.

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones to death those who have been sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you people were unwilling!” Luke 13:34

Evil therefore has but two chances in our tale to find success; to lure our hero or heroine away from the protection of their mother or remove her from the tale. As we discovered in our first discussion death cannot separate us from the Life Giver. So, here too, it can oft be found in our tales that even in death the mother's presence can be felt and her protection reach her child if they are willing. An old hymn paints a pretty picture of the epic battle raging on around us.

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing; Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing: For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe; His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate, On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing; Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing: Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He; Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same, And He must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us: The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him; His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure, One little word shall fell him.

That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth; The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth: Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also; The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still, His kingdom is forever.

Truth is, Evil doesn’t have much chance at all of success. It might triumph for a time but inevitably the mother reaches out from beyond the grave to snatch her child from the claws of the wicked one. It is stated in Deuteronomy 31:8 that the Lord himself goes before us he will neither fail nor forsake us, The truth remains that it isn't so much in his physical presence where-in lies the power of protection but in the calling on of his Name; that Name above all Names! Jesus walked through death and now just like our Mothers Lost lives on beyond the holds of death. For even better than our Tale, Jesus came back to life and in so doing ended any power that death might have once held! His protection still stands! His word Endures! His name, The MIGHTY Name of Jesus, is all that we need call upon to be saved. But just like our hero or heroine We have to want it. (continued in the following post)

[legendsloom]

The Tale of Mothers Lost

 (Intro and Part 1)

It is interesting that in all of history, in every culture, the deepest folklore is filled with mothers lost. In almost every fairytale the hero or heroine has lost their mother. The message of each tale differs yet it truly makes one wonder if there is a deeper message living dormant beneath this subtle loss.

Now I am not saying that it has only ever been the mother that is lost. I am merely pointing to the fact that most often it is the Mother who is lost.

Is it that the writers all were loathe to admit that mothers could be just as cruel as many of the step-mothers are portrayed to be? Is it that they wished to portray resiliency despite a harrowing loss? I believe there is far more to it than just the authors quibbling whims. I have written oft on the role we damsels play in the fabric of life, echoed in the essence left us in the stories we read, and this topic more than most has struck close to home. As a child I loved to tell stories of fantastical adventures, of young heroins and heroes who daringly fought against all odds to make it to their happily ever after. My protagonists would oft begin their sad tale with the searing loss of their mother. My own mother,who oft would hear my tales, questioned me grievously many times as to what had motivated me to write such a plaintive piece. The truth was I didn't really know. I related to some degree with the loss of my characters and those in other stories having felt emotionally torn and somewhat distant from my mother from a very young age. Her own loss in that same quarter played deeply into this. But to say that that alone would eloquently cover all of history would be a daring and impossible statement.

To truly grasp this, I think first we must look at the role of a mother, not just in the story but as she is, all that she has ever been or stood for.

Firstly, they give us life

The very act of giving life is a power unto itself. In many cultures it is this power alone that sets woman apart; she is a Life Giver. So in essence, to put an end to the Life Giver is to kill the hope that the gift of life brings, therefore transferring power to the darker forces. By ending their connection to the source of life we weaken the hero / heroine.

Secondly, They nurture us.

This one is sort of three-fold; to understand it we must look at what the word nurture means.

NURTURE:

Verb

- to feed and protect: to nurture one's offspring.

- to support and encourage, as during the period of training or development; foster: to nurture promising musicians.

- to bring up; train; educate.

Noun

- rearing, upbringing, training, education, or the like.

- development: the nurture of young artists.

- something that nourishes; nourishment; food. So to Recap: 

- mothers bring safety from harm

- They encourage and support us while we grow into our destiny

- And lastly they bring wisdom, teaching us what we will need on life's journey. Now any one of the above; be it safety, support, or the gift of wisdom, would be reason enough to take a mother out of a story as quick as possible for evil to have any chance at all. Now let that sink in... read it again if you must.

Each one of those reasons in and of itself is more than reason enough to cut her out of any tale as quickly as possible for evil to have any chance at all. A mother is a force to recon with! Back to the question: Why is it that we have so many Mothers Lost in our Folklore?

Reason 1 – Life:

As I pointed to earlier, the very act of being a Life Giver is profoundly powerful. But this gift does not simply end with the birthing of a child. Any mother will tell you that once she has a child her life is no longer her own. She continues to pour life into her children long after they have grown. This is a powerful connection, to be connected to a Life Giver is like having a constant source. Our deepest longing as children is to be connected to the ones who gave us life. How much more is our longing to be connected to THE Life Giver; GOD. Through the fall our connection to the Life Giver was severed we no longer had connection to the source and so were weakened by our loss.

Many people can tell you of the emptiness and sense of loss that even a distant or emotionally absent mother can bring. You are constantly searching for that connection, that inflow of Life, but are met with something that is in essence dead. I suppose I'm writing this particular instance more so from reflected experience. My own mother has oft spoken about her emotionally distant mother and the depths to which that has affected her own journey. My grandmother is well on her way through the wilds of dementia so any hope of recovering a connection in this life has long since passed. Though my mother was often distant and emotionally strained while I was small, having had no experience of what a connected mother was, I cannot say my experience was anywhere near that of the epic tales. My mother fought through, deeply connected to THE Great Source of Life and, as we kids grew, became a huge source to us all in our individual journeys. In recent years she has become a wonderful companion and friend, one I nearly lost in the fall of '97'. My journey would have looked very different if God had not chosen in His grace to renew her Life. I praise Him that she was allowed to go on to be a greater source to those He had placed in her care.

For those who have lost their mother and or have had the connection to their source of life severed, I bring you to our beloved stories. Though weakened by this circumstance, their Life Giver connection gone, our Hero/Heroin still makes it to the end! Quite often a remnant remains of the Life Giver; a look, a note, a last word, a song, even a dream, or memory. So it is with Christ because of his Death, the death of THE Life Giver and his rising again, the connection is restored. We might not be walking physically side by side with our creator but we are still connected through His word and His Life. It is through our Relationship with Christ that we can find a connection that can never be severed, for through our Connection to THE Life Giver we have Everlasting Life!

There is a little known secret tucked away in the beginning of our beloved stories, something I think God intended all along; not even Death can truly separate us from the Life Giver. (Continued in the following post)

[legendsloom]

Mirror, Mirror, On the Wall...

Beauty, Accomplishment, Affirmation, these are reflected by and received from that age old Mirror. How often in our Tale is it that while looking at her reflection our princess meets with destiny! Sometimes it can take different form as in a frog that is a prince awaiting a kiss to change him. Or a princess, who is a frog, awaiting the faithfulness of her prince to change her forever. Sometimes it is those bound by evil who long to see themselves as something other than what they've become, who stare into the mirror begging it to tell them they are what they so desire. Whether you are a princess or a deceived and wicked queen we all long to be told we are beautiful. That we are worthy of our dreams and able to achieve them.

Often what we long to see or what we hope for will accompany our reflection. Mulan sings a haunting song of disappointment when again she has seemingly failed to measure up to her reflection.

In the late TV show Once Upon a Time's first season the evil queen is depicted as having never had the true love and acceptance of her mother. Though loved by her father neither he nor her lover is strong enough to rescue her from the wickedness that surrounds her. So she falls captive to the lies.

Later on in the show after she has so to speak won, she is caught on several occasions pausing by her hallway mirror still asking “am I good enough?” In her eyes you can see the haunting of a desire unmet, a soul tortured with what it knows to be true and what it longs to see.

Reflections can be tricky things. Throughout history and legend mirrors and reflections have played key rolls in shaping our heroes and heroins and even our villains. But it was James who first mentions, it isn't the thing that is dangerous but our perception of it and what it shows.

James chapter 1:22-25 Keep on being obedient to the word, and not merely being hearers who deceive themselves.For if anyone hears the word but is not obedient to it, he is like a man who looks at himself in a mirror and studies himself carefully, and then goes off and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the one who looks at the perfect law of freedom and remains committed to it — thereby demonstrating that he is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of what that law requires — will be blessed in what he does.

In these verses he is addressing our heart towards God's word, the living truth that will save us. There-in lies the secret. It is in God's own word that we find who we are and what our true image is.

Chosen, Beloved, Cherished, Adopted, Righteous, Forgiven, Anointed, Priest, Daughter of the King! These are some pretty amazing titles and sometimes they don't fit our perception of what we see day in and day out. The thing is God doesn't see us in any other light.

So right now I want you to find a Mirror. The bigger the better. I want you to wipe away any claim you have to the reflection. I want you to view that young lady as you would any other girl you'd pass in the mall. What do you see? She is Beautiful right!? Wow, look at that Nose! That clear skin. Those haunting eyes! Look at how her hair shines when she turns her head! Admire her wonder, her luscious lips! Look at all the amazing things about her. Now that you are thoroughly jealous of this gorgeous Babe.

Step back, now I want you to hear this; That's you! You have my full permission to reclaim THAT reflection! All that beauty, all that style all that belongs to and is You! You are fantastic! God sees you as His best work His crowning Glory! He sees all that you are and all that you've ever done and are going to do and yet He chooses to see you as Chosen, Beloved, Cherished, Adopted, Righteous, Forgiven, Anointed, Priest, and Best of all HIS Daughter!

[legendsloom]

The Voice of an Angel

Angelic voices, ethereal song; coveted by the whole fairy kingdom. Many princesses were kidnapped, taken by witches, giants, ogres and yes even dragons; taken because of their ability to sing. What is it about music that appeals to us so? Why would it matter if she could sing? I'm sure hundreds of others in the kingdom could sing, why her? Why is it our dream girl has to be the idol of our nemesis? This last question was answered in part in my post Wounded, but I think it goes far deeper.

Any singer can tell you, that to sing is to speak, reaching past the physical, beyond emotional, racing, flying unhindered strait into the mystic spiritual realm. In music we can sense the bigger picture. Our souls fly free buoyed on the essence of mere sound; the language of the heart. Ever watched a movie and though you didn't understand what they were saying could catch the meaning behind the words in the score that backed the scene? This is best seen in opera. Many of us are quite ill equipped to decipher the Latin often used so eloquently by the stars on stage. But one doesn't need a PHD in Latin to understand the depth of the lady's sorrow or the heights of her lover's passion. Music speaks in volumes that extend beyond the mere physical.

I had my brother tell me an interesting tidbit once, a neat little insight into the mind of Adam. We girls can often become frustrated by the men around us. We will be speaking in depth on some topic of what we thought was of mutual interest and he's zoning out. What we don't grasp, Eve, is that our voices, like our coveted princesses, are enchanting! We might consider ourselves to be talking in plain normal everyday speech but all the poor guy hears is music. To hear what we are actually saying is like trying to strain out mores code in a bilge of static. So we have got to give em a little credit for trying.

Down through the centuries music has also been used by the medical world. The powerful properties of song date back to biblical history. Saul had musical therapy sessions regularly. Music has the power to bring even the hardest of hearts to it's knees. It's ability to move beyond physical bounds, transcending strait to the heart has been known to accomplish what medication failed to do. That is what our voices can do, ladies, and there in-lies our mystery's answer, I think.

Our voice, Eve's voice; created beautiful, stunning, edging at times on the magical, was made to Glorify God. It was made to bring together the best of Eve's design, her beauty, her strength but also that inbuilt ability to impart life. Woman was created to nurture, to protect, to come through in the very last moments when all hope seems lost. All this is brought together in her stunning, magical voice!

How often is it in our treasured tale that our prince is hopelessly lost in some enchanted woods and cannot find his way home. The Evil in our tale, is closing in and despair is raising its lips to sound the inevitable triumph and suddenly, what should come floating to our prince's ears? A voice. The voice of the Princess! It calls to him, begs him to carry on, bringing him one step farther than he might have gone alone! It is this power that so threatens the Evil. If captured, subdued, hidden and hushed the Prince will never get out. The kingdom will be lost without a prince and so fall to the destruction of Evil's plans.

Ladies, our princes are lost, we've seen them disappear, fade into the forest of mediocrity. They are trapped in a maze of trees grown by the world and the church together in an attempt to make them tame. If we wish to find our Men we must Sing! Our call must reach the very deepest parts of the forest. We must transcend the woods and reach into their souls call out to the wild strength there in, the strength they will need to take and master the woods! So sing Princess, sing! Remind your Prince of who he is and who he was born to be! Sing in the dragon's lair! Sing in the Darkest night! Sing, and Adam will hear you with his whole soul!

[legendsloom]

The Painful Path to Healing

In my last post I addressed the wounding all damsels face once captured by the Dragon. I mentioned that once free of the Dragon there was healing that needed to happen.

Have any of you ever had a wound that wouldn't heal? the scab was thick and the flesh around it hot and raw. The mere touch of a feather could send your limb into spasms of pain. Removing the scab was the first step to getting it to heal! However allowing someone to touch it was far worse than having to re-live the original injury. Once the scab was off a hot cotton pad or soak was in order and the cleansing, though painful at first, became soothing and even gratifying by the end. With a new bandage and now cleansed of all the infecting particles the wound quickly healed.

Internal wounding is very much the same only far harder to address as the scabbing within can manifest itself in varying ways. Scabs, however, are not the problem here, don't get me wrong. Scabbing is the body's first defense against disease and external intrusion. Meant to cap the breach in the outer defenses they can however encapsulate the very poison they were meant to keep out. Scabbing then magnifies the injury by allowing the poison to fester and take root. It is only by removing the scab and clearing the abscess of all trace of the poison that healing can truly begin.

Sometimes the festering wound can go unnoticed until one day some feather in a conversation, a look or an action, brushes against it and we explode in anger and pain. The poor soul, who's feather it was, may in turn take a hard hit from our steam vent. Walking away scalded, they scab over sometimes with the poison of this encounter still inside. The wounding cycle can be vicious, spanning generations. I sadly know many still caught in the overflow of the wounding my grandmother received as a child.

My own journey to healing has been a long one and is not over even yet. When I removed, at the age of twelve, one of the lies that had grown in my heart from childhood; it left a wound in it's wake. A deep hole that, left unfilled, festered with the few remaining bits of root left behind. I was unaware of this poisoning and so although free of the thorn I still was dealing with the anger and pain of the initial wounding. It wasn't until I was 18 that the reality of the wound became apparent. I had for some years felt uncontrollable bursts of rage directed at the people I loved most; my family. My mother had suggested counseling but I had put it off as I had no idea of where the anger was coming from. In my heart I knew it was wrong but how do you address an enemy you can't see let alone place? In desperation I went to the local Christian book store seeking any book I could find that might give me the fix I needed. I found a few that looked like the answer to my symptoms. On sale that day too was the female counterpart to the much acclaimed Wild at Heart. I figured 'Why not? I can read it when I'm done these other books.' Once home I opened and started one and then another of the books I had bought but the fix they seemed to have promised eluded me. In frustration I tossed them aside and picked up Captivating. I figured it would be the mental break I needed. I cried for five hours!

I read the book from cover to cover and wept as God first, reveled to me the existence of the festering sores and then walked me through the pain of removing the scabs and the garbage that had lain hidden beneath. Emerging from my chamber puffy eyed and a little less scabby I knew I had at last begun my journey to healing. It would be many years yet before I had the courage to address the scab from my best friend's wounding. And it has been a longer journey still, rebuilding my trust towards young men.

As stated before, I'm no where near complete in my quest to find healing, and I think it unlikely in this life. Wounding occurs almost daily in this life. But I believe that can be expected. After all we are in a battle for the Kingdom against a very wicked Dragon. In John 16:33 Jesus himself states “I have told you this so that through me you may have peace. In the world you will have trouble, but be courageous — I have overcome the world.” I just love how He prefaces that. 'I have told you this so that through me you may have peace.' Yes, prior to this verse He is talking about the desertion of the disciples and the persecution to come. But He still say's through all the pain and hurt we can have peace knowing He's Bigger, Stronger and Greater than anything the Dragon throws our way!

Now for those of you questioning; my relationship with my earthly father is, once again, Amazing! Though shaken by the Dragon's assault, his attempt to destroy it ultimately failed.

Healing, my friends, can come in many forms and for some things it will be swift, while for others decades will pass in the process. The timing will depend largely on you and your courage to face the pain. God is gracious and ever so gentle; far more patient than we'd care to admit sometimes. He stands beside us ready and waiting to walk us through. Deuteronomy 31:8 ~ “Indeed, the LORD is the One who will keep on walking in front of you. He'll be with you and won't leave you or abandon you, so never be afraid and never be dismayed.”

Take his hand, dear Reader, and step into the peace He's promised.

[legendsloom]

Wounded

Of all the posts I've done this one has been the toughest to formulate. The reason that I allude to this, is that this one, above all the others, has had the most personal implications.

When we think of Dragons we often think of fierce, wicked, slaughtering thieves; and in most fairy tales they are. They seem to zone in on all that is good, their insatiable thirst for blood and destruction is hallmark to their legend.

In any tale, we must note, it is not the saddened kingdoms of turmoil that attract the rage of these Fiery beasts; it is the happiest and most abundantly blessed kingdoms. It would therefore seem that prosperity, harmony and joy are things that the dragon hates and therefore must destroy.

In folk lore it is said that maidens were the Dragon's first choice to take as they were the most delicate and tasty of snacks, and this Lore isn't far off in it's estimation. The beautiful and terrible Dragon of this age, Lucifer, has been capturing and devouring damsels since the world began. With his lies and deceit he will do anything to disrupt the prosperity, harmony and joy of the King's daughters the world over. His diabolical hate for Woman; creations crowning jewel and Adam's saving grace, is so strong that he begins his assault even upon the very first moments in her cradle. Snatching innocence and devouring trust he whispers in the shadows lies that grow in the soft fertile regions of her young heart, taking root and stifling truth.

There is not one among us who has not been touched. We have ALL been wounded by the Dragon, and understandably so. To think that our Princess would have arrived at the dragon's keep unscathed is preposterous to say the least. A dragons skin is made up of rough scales that seared a knight's Armour at a simple touch. The beasts claws were sharp and long and sometimes filled with a deadly poison. Fire flared from his nostrils and sulfur smoke filled the air about him. If his grip didn't kill her the mere act of breathing might.

In her book Captivating, Stasi explains the reason behind the Dragon's assault on woman in chapter five~ A special Kind of Hatred. In summery; Satin, or Lucifer, was the most beautiful angel in heaven, his very name meaning Son of the Dawn. But in Ezekiel 28:17 we discover that he had become corrupted by his glory and so fell from God's Glory to earth. So when God, finishing his work upon creation places Man in his image, and Woman a picture and reflection of the beauty of God, the glory the Dragon coveted, is it any wonder Woman is under attack?

As a child, my encounter with the Dragon began long before I ever met the Prince of peace. It was in whispered lies to an innocent child willing to believe. As I grew older my fear of the night and it's lurking shadows grew also. Within, lurked a nameless fear. At the age of four I was rescued by the Prince of Peace. However, my fight against the dragon had only just begun. The lies that had been rooted in infancy had grown and now flourished in my young heart. I sometimes had a sense that things were not as they should be. But unaware of the growing shadows formed by these lies I kept on, nurturing them and keeping them alive. I was twelve before I found myself staring into the deep darkness of one of my nurtured lies. My mother's near death had caused me to realize it's existence. It would be another few years before I had successfully pulled the roots of that lie out of my heart.

This act angered the Dragon, his hold on me was failing. As I drew closer to the King of Heaven, he attacked me in force that year and in the years to come. I was molested in school by a young man from my youth group. And in two years I had my closest friend turn around and dump a history of anger and hate on me, blaming me for her pain. She then disappeared leaving me wondering if I'd ever be whole again. I found my self utterly alone, unable to trust anyone outside my family. The Dragon's assault came even further still, in an attempt to utterly shatter my faith in others, he attacked the very relationship I had with my earthly father.

For each of us the details differ slightly but the story is the same. The Dragon attacks, leaving us vulnerable and alone, bleeding inwardly from the poison of his words. How does one heal from such an attack? In the dank of the dragon's keep there would have been no rest for our weary and wounded damsel. As soon as she was released, she would have fled the dragon to the farthest parts of his cave. But no matter how far she ran no matter where she hid she would not have rid herself of his stench; the ever present reminder of her plight. Her wounds may have healed as well as may be, but they would have left scars and some, I'm sure, would reopen if accidentally she rubbed up against something in the dark.

Once free of the dragon and riding off with her prince she would have to undergo further healing. To reset anything broken might have meant re-breaking the bone. To cure an infection a removal of the scab. With healing comes pain. And I'll address this in more detail later.

The very fact that we are Women; beautiful, strong, life giving, life saving in our very being, means we stand in the way of the dragon utterly destroying the Kingdom. He HAS to take us out! So Damsels.. What lies have you nurtured in your hearts? What wounds do you bear? The scars of your past mark only the threat YOU pose to the Dragon.

[legendsloom]

What ARE We Waiting For?

We are, as young girls, taught and often encouraged to wait for our prince and he shall slay our dragon! We are quite familiar with the picture of a princess locked in her tower but in my musing on this epic battle about to ensue I realized the folly of such a notion. When we view our brave knight gallantly riding in, sword drawn, shield raised to take the heat of dragons fire, our eyes glance, for a moment on the littered floor of broken Armour; Knights who failed in their task to slay this beast. Tragic and meant to show how terrible this Dragon is. The more littered his keep the mightier the man needed to slay him, right?

WRONG!

Ever wonder what the damsel was doing in all this fighting? If you were held prisoner against your will and suddenly a brave man came along to help you, would you sit cowering in the tower or would you come flying down that stairs grab the nearest blade and have at the dragon too?

The more I read about relationships and who it is God has created us to be I find we have failed our Knights more oft than not by standing meekly by while they struggle against a beast they were never meant to fight alone. I quote: Wild at heart ~ page 53 [Eve is given to Adam as his ezer kenegdo or as many translations have it , his “help meet” or “helper.” Doesn't sound like much, does it? It makes me think of Hamburger Helper. But Robert Alter says this is “a notoriously difficult word to translate.” It means something far more powerful than just “helper”, it means “lifesaver”. The phrase is only used elsewhere of God, when you need him to come through for you desperately. 'There is no one like the God of Jeshrun, who rides on the heavens to help you'(deut.33:26). Eve is a life giver, she is Adam's ally. It will take both of them to sustain life. And they will both need to fight together.]

We have been deceived, sisters! As we have been so many times before. We need to stop bemoaning the failure of our knights and go out, join them, and Slay that Dragon!

[legendsloom]

Happily Ever After

Now, as the sun sets on the rubble of your past, life should advance happily ever after, right?

We forget that the prince still had to take her back to his kingdom. Their journey there would have been filled with all the hardship and toil a journey of that kind would have held. Many nights beneath stars, many long days of riding. She would have had to trust in Him many more times before they reached His Kingdom. There would have been mountains to climb, rivers to cross, forests to go through. The one difference would be that He was there helping her every step of the way. There would have been days where they kicked back in the cool under trees and watched the clouds go by. Having come that way already He would have known all the best places to stop all the wonderful things to be seen. Because of His passionate abandon for His Princess He would have made sure she always saw the best.

But I can bet you that She wasn't 100% sure of her prince to start off and may have made things more difficult for the both of them than was really needed. But He was soo sure soo good that He just loved her through, gently guiding her back to the path of peace every time she raced off on her own. I'm sure He asked her to do things that wouldn't have made a whole lot of sense to a girl who'd been tower bound for the last bunch of years, and she would have resisted the change. Yet day by day month by month She would have grown to trust him more and more. Her Love for him would have Grown too. Those they past would have noted the way she looked at the prince they would have heard her tell her story of how the dragon had taken her and how the Prince rescued her, how He was leading her back to his Kingdom. She would have related with excitement all the things He had promised awaited their arrival. There would have been others who would have begun to follow. As they neared His Kingdom they would have met still others who had stories of how Good the Prince was and how He had touched their lives, changing them forever. Soon the Princess began to reach out to find others who too needed the Rescue of her Prince. When they finally reached the Kingdom there would have been hundreds following them. When the gates opened no words could describe what she saw beyond. Here was a place to be Happily Ever After!

[legendsloom]

Worthy of Rescue

We all know the story;

Once upon a time there was a princess...

What often follows is an enviable description of the girl in the tale. And we girls dream for a time that we are that princess, willing ourselves to forget that which surrounds us.

Then a dragon shows up snatches our Dream girl and she is whisked away to the most horrifying place imaginable. Locked in a tower without mention of food or water, only that the Dragon guards the door to her freedom, keeping her locked away in the shadows and cold. His breath is fire and he is beautiful and terrible; wicked, deceitful and heartless. The description of the dragon makes even the bravest of us shudder with the mere thought of having to face such a beast. Our princess is truly without hope for who would dare face this monster!?

But although our Girl's future looks bleak we know that maybe even as soon as the next sunrise the Prince or Knight will show up in our story and bravely face the dragon and remove it from the tower. The brave Knight or Prince then takes our Princess away to joys she'd never known before, even before the dragon.

Many of us wish we were the Princess, we long so deeply to be given the descriptions ascribed to our heroin. Sometimes so much that we would willingly trade places with her. We like to forget the Dragon when we dream thus. We often don't think about being locked in a tower. About the fear and heartache such an abduction would cause. How within the story there was no promise of rescue only that she clung to the hope that she would be. There is no time allotted to her lonely sojourn in the dungeon of the Dragon. Taking into account that today it takes years to recoup from such damage. A flattened Kingdom would have no resources for the rescue of one person when thousands of injured and dieing were at hand. The princess, though greatly mourned, would have been abandoned as lost to the disaster of the Dragon. Yet every morning she rises clinging to the hope that someone would care enough to leave everything and come to her. She hopes beyond hope that she is worthy of rescue. This is the echo of every Girls heart. “Am I worthy of Rescue?”

We often mistake the grandeur of the kingdom for Happiness. The everyday mundane of the life before the Dragon is referenced very little. It was Good but the fact that it is never revisited shows how very little significance it has to the overall tale.

Our everyday routine may not be what we've always wanted. We can see it as boring and mundane and wish for something more. Then the Dragon shows up. And our boring mundane is shattered, torn and destroyed by physical, emotional or spiritual forces. We are suddenly locked in by circumstances beyond our control. The darkness is overwhelming and we fear we may not make it till the dawn. Everyday we wake to find ourselves still prisoner to the stones of circumstance and emotion around us; the monument of the choices we have made. We look beyond and wonder grasping at hope, “Will I make it through? Will help come? Am I worthy of rescue?” one terrible day after another we manage to last, clinging to the hope that things will change.

The fact is that the Dragon has already been fought and defeated although his shadow lingers. Our prince has already come He awaits us ready to take us to joys we've never known before. His name is Jesus. The past is barred by the rubble of the Dragon and the tower that once claimed us. To attempt to return to what once was would be foolish.

Stand up Princess! You are Worthy of Rescue! Take the hand of He who has given all for you and Claim your place in the Joys of the Son.

[legendsloom]

Beloved

It was in Church one Sunday that I received an enlightening note from the King. It was tucked away in a phrase the pastor said. It had nothing to do with the sermon that day but everything to do with what my Prince was trying to get through to me, and I believe every female on this planet. The words were; Maker of the stars. Pretty harmless really, but I had an Epiphany!

Having come to know and accept Jesus as Lord at the age of four, I had grown up with the understanding that God Loved me. But to think that little old me was Beloved by the Maker of the Stars had a tantalizingly magical ring to it. I went home that day and wrote a poem on the subject, which God had me later put to music and sing. It's called Fairytale.

I once thought a fairytale was simply out of reach.

That my life's tale could never match such splendor.

How could I ever be as good or as pure as she.

And yet I longed as we all do to have it told of me.

How could I know that such a tale would dim beside my own

My Prince, the son of the Greatest King to ever have a throne

That purist love had always been just a breath away

In rags no more I am now clad to outshine even day

How could I know that I'd be stripped of Shame's imprisoning bars

That I would be beloved by the Maker of the Stars!

Once I'd dreamed of noble knights and daring deeds done

Of raging wars and guileless love, of Battles fought and won

I dreamed myself the princess of beauty beyond compare

Of evil men and of Betrayal, of Dragons foul and fair

How could I know that such a tale would dim beside my own

That for my freedom My Prince had fought and even Died alone

That I had been created more beautiful than the dawn

And I'd Believed a Dragon's Lies that I was just a pawn.

I'd let him wrap me in rags of shame and place me behind bars

When in truth I was beloved by the Maker of the Stars!

Now I Know I'm living a tale that's all my own!

Swept away by a Love so great it's end is yet unknown!

I am the Princess that I believed I could never be

As Daughter of the King of Kings I stand now Blamelessly

And when that Dragon comes with lies and tries to give me scars

I claim this Truth I am beloved by the Maker of the Stars!

Oh if only you could see You too are loved by the Maker of the stars!

The verses of that song reflect the desire and longing in every woman's heart. So let's answer the first question. Is this Desire Wrong?

In her book Captivating, Stasi Eldregde points out that built into the being of every girl is the desire to be the beauty and be noticed for it. There are countless verses in the bible that stage this longing as being the very essence of who SHE is!

So is it wrong? No! God's having created us in his image makes us unique in all creation.

What does God desire? Adoration! Love with Abandon! Praise! Unyielding Devotion! Sound familiar? It should! That desire that we, as women, ceaselessly attempt to capture is bound to the very essence of our creation. We were MADE to be the Beauty!

(Book) Captivating ~ Page 41- But Why a Beauty To Unveil?

[One of the deepest ways a woman bears the image of God is in her mystery. By “mystery” we don't mean “forever beyond your knowing,” but “something to be explored.” “it is the glory of God to conceal a matter,” says the book of Proverbs, “to search out a matter is the glory of kings” (25:2). God yearns to be known. But he wants to be sought after by those who would know him. He says, “you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jer.29:13). There is dignity here; God does not throw himself at any passerby. He is no harlot. If you would know him you must love him: you must seek him with your whole heart. This is crucial any woman's soul.]

Sadly, the thorns of sin have grown to bar and warp our view of the Garden. We are forced now to look through the shattered lens of the past and see so often what we've been told to see. Desperate for approval we do anything to get it, when really we've had it all along. (book) Captivating ~ God is in the act of Creation; one glorious crescendo after another!

Page 24 -

[Then something truly astonishing takes place. God sets his own image on the earth. He creates a being like himself. He creates a son.

(Gen. 2:7)

So the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground, breathed life into his lungs, and the man became a living being.

It is nearing the end of the sixth day, the end of the Creator's great labor, as Adam steps forth, the image of God, the triumph of his work. He alone is pronounced the son of God. Nothing else in creation even comes close. Picture Michelangelo's David. He is... magnificent. Truly, the masterpiece seems complete. And yet, the Master says that something is not good, not right. Something is missing...and that something is Eve.

(Gen.2:21-23)

So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man. When the man was asleep, he took one of the man's ribs, closed up the flesh in its place, formed the rib that he had taken from the man into a woman, and then brought her to the man. Later, the man remarked, "This at last is bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh. This one shall be called 'Woman,' because she was taken from Man."

She is the crescendo, the final, astonishing work of God. Woman. In one last flourish creation comes to a finish not with Adam, but with Eve. She is the Master's finishing touch.]...[Eve is...breathtaking. Given the way creation unfolds, how it builds to ever higher and higher works of art, can there be any doubt that Eve is the Crown of Creation? Not an after thought. Not a nice addition like an ornament on a tree. She is God's final touch, his piece de resistance. She fills a place in the world that nothing and no one else can fill. Step to a window, ladies, if you can. Better still, find some place with a view. Look out across the earth and say to yourselves, “The whole, vast world is incomplete without me. Creation reached it's zenith in me.”]

Know this Reader: YOU ARE MARVELOUSE! AMAZING! AND INCREDIBLE! you are a MASTERPIECE of God's design. Made in HIS Image! For some of you this will be a stretch on your thinking cap as you're struggling still with believing God is real, let alone your Creator and King. But stay with me...

For those who believe God exists including those who may have a skewed vision of Him with regards to yourself, I ask you this; Would you call God any of the negative things you call yourself and often believe you are? Remember; You were Made in HIS Image! That maze of the unattainable? LIES! ALL LIES! The TRUTH: Beautiful, Righteous, Loved, Cherished, Chosen, Forgiven, New, Perfected, Set Apart, Powerful, Grace Filled, Ambassador, Warrior Princess, Heiress, Bride, Daughter! The scripture is full of all the names God has for you! YES, YOU! Believe it! You are no accident! He planned for you to be here, today, as you are, the day he said 'let there be light!' The Plan and Purpose he has for you to fulfill the Destiny for which you were MADE is unique to you and you alone. In the words of Galadrielle to Frodo in the Lord of the rings; "if you do not find a way, no one will."

HE has, from the day you were conceived, been shaping and molding you, equipping you for the task ahead! You may not always feel it but HE above all thinks you are amazing! He is so passionately in love with you that He is STILL bending Time and space to spend time with you! If you listen and watch you will find his secret Love notes in the most un-thought of places. You will hear Him whisper his adoration in the silent glory of the Dawn. Or the gentle touch of the breeze! You will be walking home, and cutting across a field; suddenly find your self knee deep in flowers, and you'll KNOW He's shouting 'I LOVE YOU!'

I dare you not to think of this next time you are walking home and see the freshly fallen snow or hear a bird sing... He made them just for you and sent that bird to serenade you, HIS most precious LOVE! A Princess! The Fairest of Them All!

[legendsloom]

A Distant Icon

From the first few years of our lives we girls dream of being a princess. Disney has made a fortune selling princess paraphernalia to little girls the world over; little girls who long to be "The Fairest of Them All!"

Yet, how many of us can really say we've ever felt that way? The older we get, the more the harsh realities of life seem to push us farther and farther away from that dream. The Ideal Princess, with her beauty unfathomed and graceful manners that make an angel look bad, is far from the reflection we view each and every morning.

It seems the road that was once so clear and smooth when we were three and four is now a maze of impassable standards, and the Iconic Princess ever more distant from the place we find ourselves.

We then respond in one of two ways:

We either begin to believe and accept that such women exist only in fairy tales and fall into a rut of self loathing...

-Or-

We race onward, believing that if we buy enough, eat enough, lose enough, have enough, and gain enough approval it will somehow bridge the gap and we'll FINALLY be that Princess.

It's interesting to find that this notion is the same both inside and outside the Churched world. That the Christian Woman has no better footing on her path to this Ideal than any other. Sure we paint it with the 'Christian colours', instead of 'Princess' it's 'The Proverbs Woman' or the 'Wise' or 'Grace filled' Wife; it's all the same really.

Are we all just lost in the mist? Is the desire within us just another fracture from The Fall? Or maybe.. Just maybe we've been missing the truth behind our longing all along.