and 2 hate them & fear them, 2 run & 2 hide, & accept it all bravely, with GOD on my side.

So in the archives of this humble blog, an enthusiastic reader may find a little piece entitled “I am not a religious man.” The truth of this statement is that, I, in fact, am not a religious man. I am a spiritual being. I was never baptized, nor was I raised with any religious doctrine. I was left to wander throughout life as an observer, critiquing and discovering many paths towards becoming enlightened with the knowledge that what lay above and beyond might quite possibly be beyond all comprehension. And the path towards such an abstract way of seeing and being in the here and now is much more difficult than I could have ever never imagined.

So anywho….that being said…..a friend of mine is recovering from a nasty breakup with a girl 10 years his junior, a nineteen year old woman whose ex-husband/3 year old daughter’s father is in jail for raping a girl at knifepoint. Said ex has a coke problem, a sexual addiction, a poor upbringing, and a stronghold over my friend for her having guided him through an expensive addiction to strip clubs and their illusion of satisfaction and companionship. We’ve tried time and time again here at work to lead him towards the light, but to no avail. I’m sure I’ll expound upon this in the future….as I sneak more and more creative time from the man.

Here’s what my friend, Abe, had to say…..

"Beer, weed, working out, hookers... whatever, has definitely removed me from all situations for a brief period of time. While I'm sober, and in solitude, even at a strip club, I can sit and introspect, as a glaze over some girl's perception of what God's gift to man should look like."

"My mom actually said something of relevance in the past year... It goes like this,

'Running from problems(moving away) doesn't solve the problem. You have to face your problems head on. You have to accept the challenge that the problem brings you and beat it, and not let the challenges beat you down or change you. Be grateful for the day that you can drive by her subdivision without pulling into it and driving up to her house. You don't have to take a different road home."

And this was my reply…..enjoy, ignore, ponder, wonder, contradict, ingest.....in any case..thanks for reading.

Your affliction is that you’re a classic romantic with issues……me too.

It’s tough. It will take a long time. But you have no choice. If you believe in God, then you were meant not to be together. She could not and will not bring you happiness needed to live fully through this life.

I was thinking about Jesus after you called last night. Whether or not I believe Jesus was capable of miracles is irrelevant. The miracle is that 2000 years later, in a society hell bent on destroying itself through drugs, and commercialism, bombs, politics, false ideals, sex, hate, fear, etc…..his name is still spoken, revered, his influence on the world is stronger than that of the zealots and the fundamentalists..his word perseveres and in him people find solace and hope and trust, and the most amazing part of it all is that Jesus is in you. When you speak to him or to god, you’re speaking to yourself. When you change for him or for god, you’re changing for yourself. Some people prefer to boast or to be supported by many, others, such as I, choose to seek this spiritual essence of self on our own due to feeling uncomfortable by crowds. In either case, we’re in it alone until we reach out to Jesus…..reach out to ourselves, to the strongest, most faithful, true, trustworthy and passionate us that we can be. I think your bible group and the trip to mexico might be exactly what you need in your life. When the pain is so intense, and you feel that driving by her house will make it “go away”, reaching out to God or Jesus or friends who care for your well being is the best way to subdue the raging emotion until it subsides and you see it as merely an overload of chemicals saturating a fragile mind.

Trust me, I’ve been there.

Trust yourself, so have you.

And if you believe in Jesus and God…..trust in them….they are the answer.