THE UNINTENDED STRANGER

Precious Family, Friends and Life Colleagues,
       How are you all doing? Well I trust. How many of you reminisce about your life experiences? My husband does that quite well. Me, not so much. It's not my thing. However, I do enjoy watching The Waltons and hearing Earl Hamner reminisce about his life. He has some pretty amazing memories to draw on that convey a wonderful life. I do so enjoy hearing about a wonderful life. And the style with which Mr. Hamner shares his life is done with such beautiful eloquence that it's easy to be enthralled by such opulence. Although Mr. Hamner might not agree with my assessment of his life being opulent, I am sure that he would agree that his life was quite good nonetheless, compared to many. I am so grateful that his life was something he appreciated and did not take for granted, and that it was filled with amazing love. Not everyone can say that. Not everyone can say their life has been replete with love. I can't. In fact, there are many who cannot even say they experienced real love at all in their lives. There are many who have no inkling of what it means to be loved, honored, cherished or respected even a little bit. But it seems shows like The Waltons, Little House on The Prairie, even Christy and Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman help to fill those voids that God never intended for any of us to experience.

        Such shows are nostalgic indeed, but nonetheless, leave a lasting impression of wondrous good. They prove that though love's experience might be lacking in the lives of some, it also proves that there are those whose lives are so full of love that they don't mind letting it overflow into the lives of others ... even into the lives of the unintended stranger. Such people go out of their way to make sure everybody who comes into their lives are by no means meant to be strangers in God's world or in theirs. They put to practice the real meaning of The Good Samaritan with a fervent abandon because as they see it, no one is designed to be lost or meant to be a stranger. They make sure that everyone who crosses their path is welcomed and worthy of utmost respect and kindness. They make sure to imprint the world with as much love and goodness as God Himself would have us all to experience, not just a select few.

       Such people are worthy of noting. Such people understand how much our lives intertwine for goodness' sake. Such people are worthy of our admiration and emulation. Such people whether they know it or not truly honor God, for they unwittingly manifest Heaven on earth. They may only know that they are living as honorable, integrity filled lives as they can, but in reality they are demonstrating the very essence of Heaven and manifesting It on earth.

Heavenly Father, 
       Thank You for giving us living examples of Heaven's glorious wonder manifest on earth. Thank You for showing us how wonderful Heaven really is in our own lives and how accepting of us. Thank You for all the wonderful ways we experience Heaven's tender mercy and amazing grace, even by television. Many of us need to feed off these wonderful television programs just to have a glimpse of hope spring up in us. Many of us also realize that for some such television programs also reflect the real life of others that we really wish was our own but for some reason was not. We can't be jealous of them, Heavenly Father, for You have allotted to each of us a life uniquely our own for the express purpose of Thy glorious praise. 

Heavenly Father, 
       For all the ways You encourage us; for all the ways You lift us up and give us hope, thank You. Some things are for nostalgia, but everything, even nostalgia, has its place for the sake of promoting highest good. Sometimes these television programs promote more good than we even realize, like peace, harmony, good will and love, for example. It might even be that these programs are our only means of experiencing Heaven in our lives for a time. That they are meant to be a bridge to help us get to where we are going on the way to where we are meant to be. Such programs are a part of our lives to help inspire us, even to help us experience the goodness that otherwise might be missing from our lives. Whatever the case may be, Heavenly Father, I thank You that there is nothing that You cannot use for goodness' sake or for Your glory and honor. Glory to God!

Heavenly Father, 
       For those members of my Precious Family, Friends and Life Colleagues who find themselves without hope and/or without any sense of purpose or good Samaritan in their life due to all the chaos, turmoil and ugliness that has infected their world, I pray You make The Way of Heaven available to them in Your own wonderful way. To the Creator and Possessor of all the Universe displayed, You Yourself took control of all the darkness that was upon the face of the deep by saying "Let there be Light." So in humble gratitude I give praise to You for reaching down into the very life of every member of my Precious Family, Friends and Life Colleagues, and into the very depths of their situation, even into the very depths of the darkness that entrenches their soul ... and I praise You for speaking into them as well as into their particular situations, and for saying "LET THERE BE LIGHT!". In humble gratitude I give praise that there is absolutely nothing that can withstand the voice of God and the power of His majesty. 

         I love You, Lord God. I love that You are Our Heavenly Father. I love that though people may fail us and do us great harm because they let Your enemy (and ours) have his way in and through them. But You in no wise will fail us nor forsake us. You are not in any way against us but in every way You are very much for us. So for us are You that even all of The Kingdom of God and His Righteousness is at Thy beck and call to help us. Thanks be to God from Whom all blessings flow, even all of The Kingdom of God and His Righteousness is available to us. Glory to God Most High!. 

Heavenly Father, 
        Am I the only one to know this? I can't be. But even if I am, I pray You help me reveal this Divine Truth in such a way that will be most beneficial to The Kingdom of God and His Righteousness on earth. I pray that the members of The Church of Jesus Christ on earth would welcome this Truth with the integrity with which You have designed to empower us for the ultimate experience. Jesus commanded that we overcome evil with good, and there is no greater good than the omnipotent goodness of God and The Kingdom of God and His Righteousness. He even declared that "this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith." And our faith must be in God's omnipotent goodness as well as in the glory, honor, power and majesty of The Kingdom of God and His Righteousness. Such things are freely available to us and intended to work in us and through us for the sake of all concerned and all involved. None of us is an island completely to himself, not even God. God needs us and we need God. And the ultimate experience is beyond anything we can currently comprehend, but even a mere glimpse of It is the most amazing treasure to behold, to have, to hold and to enjoy. 
===========================================================         Jesus Christ is very much indeed The Hope of Glory, for which in humble gratitude I give praise. But is He the ultimate hope of glory or is it The Kingdom of God and His Righteousness at work in and through Jesus Christ, and manifest as a result of Christ, that is the ultimate hope of glory. See, even to put it in words like this may seem to be beyond comprehension. But have you ever considered what Heaven's hope of glory might be? The Kingdom of God and His Righteousness being Heaven? Might it be that Heaven's hope of glory is us understanding God's glory and in all our ways of living, being and doing giving God glory in like manner as Heaven? Might it be that we join Heaven in truly worshiping God and giving Him the glory He is so rightly due?
=========================================================== Heavenly Father, 
        This last paragraph as well as the last part of the paragraph before it could be addressing everybody, not just You. It seems that in retrospect that I might be addressing more than just You, Heavenly Father; like the sentiment had transitioned. However, the works of my hands are meant for Thy glory and praise. I trust You know what it is that needs to be conveyed. I also trust that You know the correct and proper answer to the questions asked and who will most benefit from them. 

Heavenly Father, 
        Is Jesus Christ really The Answer or is it The Kingdom of God and His Righteousness? Might it be The Kingdom of God and His Righteousness manifest as a result of Jesus Christ? Whatever the true answer might be, in humble gratitude I give thanks that Jesus Christ is The Sun of Righteousness and that at His beck and call is the glory and power of The Kingdom of God and His Righteousness. And I give thanks that the glory of The Kingdom of God is Jesus Christ exalted, God The Father glorified, and God The Holy Spirit magnified. I believe such is the essence of truly blessing and being a blessing to The Kingdom of God for which we are all a part of. Should You find my assessments to be in error, I give thanks that You will correct it in Your own wonderful way and set me strait. Thankfully, You know me. You know my heart. And You know that I am open and receptive to learning what I need to learn so that I can be of benefit to God Our Father, to God The Son, to God The Holy Spirit, as well as to The Kingdom of God and His Righteousness. For the sake of God's glory, honor, power, praise and majesty I must be open and receptive to my Teacher's Wisdom, Insight and Instruction. I don't know who of my Precious Family, Friends and Life Colleagues my learnings can help or which of my learnings will produce a tremendous harvest of omnipotent good. Thankfully, we are all in class together whether we all realize it or not. And thankfully, we have no greater Teacher more present in our lives and affairs than Christ Himself and The Holy Spirit of God Most High, and no greater Help at His disposal on our behalf and for our benefit than The Kingdom of God and His Righteousness. Glory to God in The Highest!

Heavenly Father, 
       What a wonderfully powerful blessing it is that Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords, and that we have been commanded to seek first The Kingdom of God and His Righteousness. In understanding this we learn the truth that sets us free from the kingdom of darkness, sin and shame. I pray the lessons associated with this Truth will work marvelous miracles and create bountiful blessings in all our lives and affairs for God's glory. In Jesus'  Holy and Blessed Name, to God be the glory. Amen. 

(c)2014; Terri Spahr, aka: (Prayer Writer Terri)