11.07.09
Posted in Love at 11:14 pm by Sandi Rauwolf
I keep feeling it being pressed upon my heart that it is time for a new face of love – time for us in today’s world to begin living the unconditional love that was encouraged by Moses, lived by David (the man after God’s own heart) and taught by Jesus.
Only thru many mistakes, dark valleys, and difficult personal life experiences are the eyes of our hearts opened to the meaning of how to live in unconditional love. Yes, many of us act in love but living true unconditional love is different. Until we make some mistakes and begin facing the giants, we don’t always see what within our very own hearts has to be changed. As I’ve shared in some of my other blogs, learning to live in unconditional love is one of the hardest things I have ever had to learn but is exactly the place where each of our hearts will find rest.
God brings us to a place where although life may bring sorrow or hurt, we no longer confuse the actions of someone with their heart or where they are along their journey to unconditional love. We find that our perspective is one that instead of turning bitter, angry or upset – thru the tears and hurt we find ourselves praying for them and asking God to teach them what He has taught us. We have compassion, empathy and patience because we have learned the true meaning of “forgive them they know not what they do” … We get it.
I want to share a few things this journey has taught me in hopes of helping you along yours.
1. When someone is not being nice to you, be kind. You don’t know what is going on in their life at the moment so be kind and hold your tongue. Remember we are judged by what comes out of our mouth not what goes in!
2. If someone succeeds at something in life (especially if it is something you would love to do yourself) don’t get envious but sincerely be happy for them. View it as a place you know you will be some day instead of a measuring stick of failure.
3. When you do succeed (and you will!), do not boast in your accomplishments only boast in what God has done in your life – remember you could not have done it alone, He deserves all the credit.
4. Do not be a proud peacock – pride sends you down the wrong path so instead fill your heart with thankfulness.
5. I do not care how inconsiderate someone is to you, do not be rude EVER and if you slip up then apologize. Just because someone forgets your fries in drive-thru or you would “never” do what that person is doing, it does not give you the right to be rude or haughty – they are human just like you.
6. Love expecting nothing in return … this is a hard one! We need to be able to freely give love with no expectations. God will then overflow our hearts with every bit of love that we give out and then some!
7. Be slow to anger – even when someone is pushing your buttons (yes especially those who know exactly what buttons to push), control your temper. Remember just as it is impossible to put toothpaste back into the tube – our words cannot be taken back.
8. Forgive and forget … oh I know that last part gotcha but please do not keep reminding people (or yourself) of things that God has forgiven them for – do not keep a checklist of what someone has done so you can recall it at any time like you do your favorite TV program on DVR.
9. Act in love. No matter what we face in life, strive to see the good in everyone and everything. Let our actions always be out of love, not evil.
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
May God bless you and be with you on your journey to a new face of love … unconditional Love.
Love to you all!
Sandi Rauwolf
Author, Blessings Too Good
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11.06.09
Posted in Love at 3:55 am by Sandi Rauwolf
I recently heard of a sermon done by a Pastor saying he was proud to be a Lutheran and that got me thinking – am I proud to be a Christian? I have to say from deep in my heart my soul is crying, “No!” and I want to share why. Over the last few months God has been showing me the masses of people who have turned away from God and are angry with Him. I have felt the heaviness of their hearts, the desperation of them wanting to know God but a distance and a hurt that seems almost irreversible. God would continue to wake me in the early morning hours to “fill the gap” for them. He would say pray, pray and pray some more for these hearts/souls. Why God? Why is this happening? He then began to show me why and the sadness that came over me was so deep.
He started bringing person after person into my path who had turned from God or was very angry with Him. I just loved on each of them and would gently ask why. Time after time it was because a Christian had done something very harmful and forever wounded their heart. They have been judged, they have had others turn on them because of gossip, they have been made to feel unworthy, they have been told that they aren’t good enough or will not amount to anything, they are struggling with sin (whether it is an addiction, being gay, whatever) so were kicked out of the church and told that God does not Love them, that their mistakes are too big for forgiveness – the list goes on and on … these are ALL LIES!!!
My heart wept deeply, very deeply.
But not as deeply as when He began to show me the very people surrounding me in my life with the same judgment, the same gossip, the same approach – their hearts being filled with everything but unconditional Love. If they hurt me so deeply and tried to make me stumble, then how much more pain and harm is it doing to people who do not know God yet or are just growing their faith? The sorrow that overcame my heart is hard to put into words.
Let me tell you “this” lesson, I did not want to learn or go through because there is so much pain (I had no idea until I lived it!) but it was an important one and I am more than blessed for having gone through it. I want to encourage you to do some inner reflecting and spend some time in prayer asking God, “Am I one of your children who gives Love a bad name?” The title of this blog dropped in my heart when I was flipping through the radio and an old song came on, “You give love a bad name”.
God sent His Son to teach us to Love and clearly spell out for us that the TWO MOST IMPORTANT COMMANDMENTS are to LOVE GOD, AND LOVE OTHERS so we need to understand the importance of being able to live unconditional Love. It is not easy but the reward far outweighs the hurt from others. Someone once said to me, “If you continue to see the good and love everyone you are just going to end up hurt.” Well sadly there is a lot of truth in that statement but what keeps me going is at the end of each day I stand before God saying, “Father did I Love like you today?” And He says with a smile, “Yes, child you did even when they spit in your face.” He then overflows my heart with every bit of Love I gave out that day and then adds even more!
Please love one another and desire from deep within your hearts for God to teach you how to live unconditional Love even through the hardest of circumstances. You can do all things thru Him so just ask and He will show you.
With MUCH Love to you all!
Sandi Rauwolf
Author, Blessings Too Good
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10.13.09
Posted in Love at 2:10 pm by Sandi Rauwolf
God woke me up at 4:30 this morning to give me this blog. I had no idea how relevant it would be to a phone call I received a few hours later. He is amazing! :)
Anyway, here is what He woke me up about. He was pressing on my heart strongly how important it is that we operate in unconditional Love encouraging others, not judging them but showing them His Love. We currently live in a society filled with many people who think if they are a believer that suddenly they are a notch above others or that it is their God given right to judge others. Let’s leave the judging to Him remember He is the one that searches the hearts of His children. Let’s live it (i.e. show it) or the message of speaking it will continue to fall on deaf ears and cause others to stumble.
Please let’s renew our minds and hearts. When we show Love we become a magnet to others. Have you ever been around a person who is warm, happy, and loving? Don’t you find that you are drawn to that person because something within you seeks that same happiness for yourself? And when your world seems to be falling down around you isn’t that the person you turn to first?
How do we learn to act in Love? We need to ask for the Spirit of Love to be poured into our hearts. Then ask for God to teach you His Love. See when we learn to turn to Him first for everything that is when we start seeing movement in our lives. He is then able to teach us Himself or send someone who He has selected to teach us (this is very important – seek Wisdom from Him first. Don’t go out looking for it. It is critical that He guides you and brings the people to teach you otherwise it may be thru someone else’s perspective who does not yet know unconditional Love).
Learning unconditional Love is not easy actually it is the hardest thing I have faced (even next to all the health issues). The reason for that is because the world has poured in so much false and negativity to each of us that God has to weed out many things to purify our hearts. It hurts to have stuff ripped out of our hearts but it is critical. So yes people will be sent into your path to push every button you have to see if you are still standing strong in unconditional Love. Do you have someone in your life right now where you keep crying out, “Why God – why? Why do I keep getting people like this who are so difficult to work with or be around?” I say turn to God and ask Him what He is trying to teach you, yes teach YOU. Quit asking Him to change the other person and ask Him to change you. What part of your heart is He trying to change? Are you judging? Are you quick to anger? It’s not easy to Love when someone is spitting in your face but there is no greater strength than when He has brought you to a place that you can turn the other cheek. You no longer see that person as someone who is horrible or someone “you” would never be but suddenly you see them through an empathetic heart wanting them to know Love so they have happiness and not the bitterness that is causing them to act that way.
So the next time that religious spirit rises in you causing you to ask yourself is that person glorifying God ask this, “are they operating in Love?” When people live the love of Christ then every single breath, every step, every blink of an eye is being done in Him to glorify His name. You’ve all heard the saying, “Actions speak a million words” so please understand the best way to glorify Him is to start living it.
I also want to encourage you parents out there to teach your children how to love – IT IS SO IMPORTANT! Suicide is at an alarming rate and I am hoping I can encourage you to step forward and do something about it. Please ensure your kid isn’t the one always putting others down or thinking they are better than anyone else. LIFE IS NOT ABOUT A COMPETITION! Ask yourself, “Is what is coming out of their mouth encouraging or detrimental to someone?” And also take a good long look in the mirror – what are they learning from you? It MUST begin with a change in you so you can live it and teach it to your children. I want to share a story about a little girl who has a heart bigger than Texas. She doesn’t give into society about dressing a certain way but is a free spirit with a heart more beautiful than most in this world but because of this, the kids at school are not nice to her. She has only a couple of friends. This little girl emptied her piggy bank of everything to help for a cause at school because that is the kind of unselfish, wonderful heart she has and do you know that no one at school can see past the way she dresses or the fact that she may be a little “different’? And this precious little girl feels unworthy!!! This is happening today … It takes everything she has to get up and go to school each day because she doesn’t know what ridicule she will face. It saddens my heart so much. Let’s start making a difference so that the kind-hearted children (young and old) are no longer the rarity but the selfish, greedy, hardened heart children are the ones you have to look deep and wide to find.
I encourage you to join me in bringing this Love to the world today. It is time to start SHOWING Love – putting hands and feet to making a difference in this world. God bless you all!
Lots of Love!!!
Sandi Rauwolf
Author, Blessings Too Good
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10.06.09
Posted in Lost My Way, Love at 5:14 am by Sandi Rauwolf
I know this blog is a bit long but please if you clicked here, you are meant to take a few minutes to read it – please.
My eyes continue to be opened to the wonders of Life. I have felt on my heart for some time now that everything is “opposite” – opposite of what we think or realize. As most of you know I have had quite a journey my entire life not just relating to my health but through things I never thought personally I would find myself in the middle of (again opposite of anything I thought – never say never!!!). After my miracles and I was given what I thought was “life” back, let me tell you I went WAY off track. I do not know who I had become – I will just say I did everything to destroy my marriage, my family – my life. I found myself out drinking it up (staying out all night, making less than good decisions) when I would be out of town … who had I become? How could I sit there filling my bed with tears feeling completely out of control for behaviors that I never thought I would fall into but yet was so easily enticed and lured in – how could the “world” have so much influence and power over me?
Then I would go through the guilt of the realization of all God had done in my life (MIRACLES, I had so many MIRACLES!), and how it seemed I was this uncaring, calloused shell of a human being spitting in God’s face and all those closest to me who had done so much for me. I would cry out in those moments, “Why God, Why am I doing this? HOW COULD I DO THIS? This is not me, please God help me – I do not want to do this!” but yet as if being under a spell, time and time again I would find myself right where I did not want to be. I felt completely helpless. A grown adult who loved God so much found herself lost like a little child who was lured away by all of the cool clothes racks to hide under. Then suddenly amongst all that fun, the moment happens where that 7 year old finds herself in the middle of the mall, LOST crying out “Where’s my Daddy? I am so scared!” Never realizing I was drifting off in the first place because I had the perspective that I, the girl with so much faith and love in her heart, could never find herself so far off and away from God. It was not a pretty time in my life and for sure what I call “my veil moment” – the moment in life I wanted to hide behind forever.
Everyone has their veil moment or moments and let me tell you the world does everything to convince you to stay behind that veil because currently it is so judging, unloving and critical. If you believe in God the prescription of judgment eyeglasses that others wear are certainly turned up a notch as if they are looking at you through magnifying glasses. Somehow they lose sight of the fact that you are human just like them and that we go through “life” to become the person we were born to be. It is the whole reason why we need God!
There are some hard lessons on that journey, very hard but it is amazing once you emerge out of the dark tunnel after focusing on the light at the end for so many years. Every tear becomes worth it and it all comes together as to “why” you faced the veil moments. During my dark times my sister (and brother-in-law) saw how lost I had become but you know they did not judge me, they loved me, they prayed for me and because of them crying out for me God reached His very hand down and pulled me out of that darkness. God taught me how critical it is to focus my eyes on Him first and foremost above all things in this world, yes that includes my family, friends, job … everything!
There is a song I heard a year ago or so that brings tears to my eyes and sums up the current state of the world. It is called “Does Anybody Hear Her?” By Counting Crows (here is the link you can listen to it for free and no it should not give you any viruses – http://www.playlist.com/searchbeta/tracks#does%20anybody%20hear%20her). It’s about a girl running one hundred miles an hour in the wrong direction, trying to go the other way but the world was sucking her in but did anyone even notice? One of the verses is:
Does anybody hear her? Does anybody see?
Or does anybody even know she’s going down today?
Under the shadow of our steeple
With all the lost and lonely people
Searching for the hope that’s tucked away in you and me
Does anybody hear her? Does anybody see?
It is sad but the people couldn’t see past what she was doing (i.e. her mistakes) and instead of loving her, praying for her, they judged her when she was there crying out HELP ME!!! As a result of this type of culture, the suicide rates especially amongst the youth is raising at a rate that makes me cry. And it does NOT have to be this way! God said something to me a couple of weeks ago which is so important, He said if anyone decides to put on and wear eyeglasses of judgment they need to ensure they try them on first and take a good look in the mirror. Amen to that!
See guys, we have all had those moments in our lives so not a single person has any right to turn to another to cast a stone but yet we live in a society who does nothing but stone people to death and thinks it “is their right”. Truly, everything is opposite of what we know as reality. THIS IS NOT THE WAY GOD INTENDED IT TO BE. It is time for a change and it starts with us. Let’s walk forward in Love understanding we go through all of those things, all of those tears to bring us to a point in life where all impurity, judgment, bitterness, etc. has been weeded out of our hearts so when we look in the mirror we only see Love (a true reflection of Christ) looking back at us – that is the moment when our Life truly begins. We then can take all of those hurts and instead of hiding behind the veil, it is torn down allowing us to become transparent so we can help the next lost little girl who feels like she is all alone in the world because no one else could have done such a horrible thing or been in such a dark place. That moment of unconditional love when we take the strength and love we were taught by carrying that cross of imperfections/mistakes to embrace another saying, “I’ve been there. You will get through this and most importantly I love you no matter what.” THAT is real Love and the moment the world and darkness has to pry its cold fingers of death off of us because Love never fails, never. Here is a short poem God put on my heart this past weekend that really sums it all up.
One Moment
It’s that one moment in time when a hand reaches out of nowhere to bring into our very being the beginning of Life.
It is the one moment all your tears come together to form a beautiful cascade of clear flowing water.
One moment, “the” moment when suddenly the light turns on and you find yourself standing in front of a mirror that you had no idea was even there.
You walk up, put your palms flat to the glass and there staring back at you is Love. It is no longer far off in the distance but right there, a beautiful reflection of you.
It’s “your” moment and when Life truly begins.
By: Sandi Rauwolf, 10/03/09
What’s your veil moment, the one that you feel you have to hide behind but someone in your path today may desperately need your experience to pull them out of that darkness – to give them hope and also the transparency needed to bring you complete healing and freedom? May God bless you and may you allow Him to use your imperfections/mistakes to help another. May you embrace someone who is so desperately crying out, feeling lost and needs Love not judgment. May you come to “your” moment when Life truly begins.
Love to you all!
Sandi Rauwolf
Author, Blessings Too Good
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09.19.09
Posted in Judging Others, Personal Perspective at 7:16 am by Sandi Rauwolf
God poured a story into me this morning that I want to share with all of you. He showed me a story of two friends both incredible souls and one struggling with a friendship in their life so turned to the other for guidance. The idea came up to add an email filter so the one friend could help the other … the idea being two sets of eyes are better than one, right? Maybe it seems like a good idea getting another person’s advice and point of view but then I was shown something I had never thought of before about how critical perspectives are to each of us.
The question came into my heart, whose glasses are we wearing? Are we wearing the spiritual eyes God has given us to see good in all things or are we seeing things thru glasses the world has given us? What I mean is, as life happens every experience will change us in one way or another – the choice is ours as to how. It will either be another step to purifying our hearts (i.e. weeding out the things the world has planted within our hearts) or it will add negativity to our hearts if we allow it in.
Are you carrying within your heart … the hurt someone has brought that was so deep now everything you see is through the eyes of hurtfulness?
Are you carrying within your heart … the lies and betrayal someone you really cared about brought so everything you see is through the eyes of an untrusting heart?
Are you carrying within your heart … the guilt of past mistakes or current things you haven’t broken free from yet so everything you see is through the eyes of an unworthy heart?
Or are you carrying within your heart … the love from every person that has crossed your path especially the ones that came wrapped differently than you thought (bringing hurts, pains, mistakes, pushing you to your very limit) allowing you to see everything through the eyes of unconditional Love?
Imagine each of those experiences as another pair of glasses on your face. We know how silly it would look to walk around with 7 pairs of glasses – then why do we so easily accept the perspective of the negativity life has thrown at us whether thru our experiences or the experiences of others? I mean how many layers of perspectives are we seeing a situation through? Are we really seeing the situation with an untainted perspective? Do we understand the more glasses we are willing to put on, the more distorted the view becomes resulting eventually in seeing nothing but darkness?
I encourage you to take some time today and ask where your heart is and what prescription you are wearing, if it is not free of all the world tried to plant into your heart leaving only Love then ask God to help you see things thru His eyes – ask Him to weed out all the bitterness, unforgiveness, anger – all negativty allowing you only to wear His prescription so you don’t miss the blessings, help or Love He is trying to bring you … it begins by turning to Him first before anyone else including yourself.
Whose glasses are you wearing?
God bless you, love to you all!
Sandi Rauwolf
Author, Blessings Too Good
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09.13.09
Posted in Faith at 5:48 pm by Sandi Rauwolf
Beep, beep, beep … the alarm clock goes off and I sleepily open my eyes to see it is 4:30 am – time to get up and get ready to go cheer on Chris, Mark and Miesha at the Chicago Half Marathon. It was a beautiful day downtown. A perfect day for a race! As we were walking towards the starting area I looked up to see this gentleman with “Blind Runner” printed across the back of his shirt. He was accompanied by a lady runner at his side to guide him and help him during the race. My heart overflowed, I thought God bless him! So many people give up when they can no longer see what is ahead of them but he knew he could do this with his guide by his side. It came upon my heart how we all need to be like that gentleman especially when we are going through those dark times in life and cannot see what’s ahead of us. We must remember that we are never alone. We may feel like God isn’t there but He is always there, right at our side guiding every step. He steers us clear of danger or cheers us on when we have bursts of strength but He can only help us if we ask Him to guide us and if we listen to His step-by-step instructions (we never know when those pot holes of life will be in front of us but He does so if we listen, He can steer us clear of them).
How many people will blindly step forward to run the race? Can you say you would step up to that starting line not knowing what the course looks like, having no idea when the road will turn or how many times, and not being able to see where there is a pot hole that could twist your ankle taking you out of the race all together? Can you trust your guide enough to run the race?
I thank God for today. I was so blessed watching Chris, Mark and Miesha, as well as all of the thousands of runners, accomplish such an incredible feat! I am very proud of them for stepping forward to run the race knowing it would be hard work, knowing that it would not be easy and would even be painful at times but each of them remained focused on that finish line and how awesome it would be to cross it – every grueling step was worth all they endured!
Miesha – thank you for sharing the scripture that has been on your heart all thru training and the race today.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrew 12:1
So to all of you out there, each of us are called to be runners in the race of life. I encourage you to step up to the starting line and be that blind runner!
Blessings! Love to you all!
Sandi Rauwolf
Author, Blessings Too Good
PS I hope to post pictures to Facebook and In the Spirit of Love website soon so check back :) (www.inthespiritoflove.org)
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08.08.09
Posted in Love at 5:32 pm by Sandi Rauwolf
Lately my heart has just been overflowing with God’s Love, it is hard to put into words just how wonderful it feels. I never thought I could love Him or others more than I did but every day He seems to bring it to another level. Love is all around!! I just saw a video of a puppy who was born with a heart shape in its fur (which matched its mom’s!)
Since the time I started Blessings 2 Good I’ve been praying for a cause to help others, a way to bring Love to the world. It seemed that nothing quite fit because there are always conditions, restrictions or things are tied to “specific” causes. But what about a foundation to help EVERYONE? My heart knows that we cannot put God in a box! He then poured “an act of love” into a friend of mine (Lis) while we were out one morning. We were like, that is it!!! I began searching websites. Well, pretty much every combination of love in a domain name has been purchased. I continued to pray about it then He woke me up at 3 am one morning and said, “The name should be In the Spirit of Love”. I had chills! I’m like, “Do You really think that is available? All names with love seem to be taken or are wanting over a thousand dollars to purchase them.” He said, “Child, don’t you think I can protect a domain name?” I thought, “Well, of course you can, you are God!” I got out of bed to sleepily wander downstairs to search it and, yep – you guessed it. It was not only available but for the low price of $9.99 – seriously, God is there anything you will not do for us? Wow, He is amazing!
So I founded a not for profit named In the Spirit of Love in July 2009. It’s a foundation where the cause is the whole world – a place where there is no discrimination of religion, culture, skin color, etc. People with hearts of Love coming side by side making a difference in the world! I hope to send an announcement out soon (please pray for the foundation and for people to open their hearts to give to the cause – there are so many people who need help right now).
Well, since this poured in I have been seeing Love everywhere I look, it is so exciting! While cutting strawberries for a family party I looked down to see a heart in the middle of a strawberry. I had to take a picture (Strawberry Heart). Okay, I know it sounds silly me photographing my sliced strawberry but it was so cool! Then God said, “Look at it a little closer.” I noticed how the center was open, then a white inner lining with white lines going from the center thru the lining to each seed. I noticed the beautiful red color which has always reminded me of Love. One of my favorite things to do when I was younger was go to a strawberry patch! I loved walking thru the field smelling the fresh strawberries and picking them off and eating some as I placed the others in the basket.
God then put it on my heart (a big heart tug!) to research the spiritual symbolism of the strawberry. I truly was blown away at how it spanned across multiple religions/spiritual beliefs. I had no idea!!!! Did you? And people say you cannot find God in everything, YES YOU CAN!!! You just have to look for Him! In one belief, the strawberry is used to teach women the connectedness and extended family (outside of blood relatives). It teaches that the white lines of virtue extend to each seed keeping them all connected to the center teaching Love. Hmmm and what is suppose to be at the center of our lives? :) In Christian art, the strawberry represents righteousness (faith), spiritual merit and good works. The structure of the leaves are trifoliate like the trinity. Come on, Seriously? Wow! In another, the berry symbolizes perfection, sweetness in life and character. Native Americans regard the strawberry as a special gift of creation that purifies the body. Amazing!
Well, then He spoke to me about how each tiny little seed on a strawberry makes a whole new batch of strawberries and then those seeds on each strawberry make a bunch more and so on and so on … quickly multiplying!!! I had chills, imagine each seed being the seed of Love and as we come side by side to bring Love to the world, those seeds of Love grow producing more seeds which go out and bring Love and those seeds of Love grow and they go out and bring more Love and so on. Wow!!! The whole world uniting in one language “Love” putting all differences aside and stepping forward to make a difference. I’m in!! How about you?
“If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” 1 Corinthians 13:3-8
Love to you all!
Sandi Rauwolf
Author, Blessings Too Good
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06.25.09
Posted in Judging Others at 5:25 pm by Sandi Rauwolf
I continue to be reminded of how important it is to look at the world thru the eyes of a child. Today while standing in line in Orlando, FL with 90 plus degree weather, Ty, Samantha and I looked down to see a caterpillar inching its way down the cement seemingly oblivious to the dangers around him. Samantha kneels down and says, “He’s so cute, Mommy! Come here little guy,” as she gently places her finger on the ground so he can crawl onto her hand. Ty and I looked at each other with an expression that all but said she thinks that is cute? It looked like an orange worm with black whiskers sticking out in every direction and more arms than it would ever need in its lifetime. I thought to myself, as much as I love God’s creatures this is not one I would call “cute”. At that exact time, Ty leaned in and said, “She thinks that is cute? I felt like maybe I was supposed to stomp on it.” Samantha oblivious to her brother’s comments says, “Can I bring him home as a pet?” I sat there looking at this less than attractive worm inching out of the palm of her hand and up her arm and thought, what does she see in this little creature? As soon as the thought cleared my mind, God said to me “that is what is wrong with the world, Sandi.”
“What do you mean?”
He said, “People so easily look at the outer appearance and form a judgment based on things they could not possibly foresee.”
“Please go on, I’m listening.”
He continued, “That little unattractive caterpillar will form into a beautiful butterfly but only if someone doesn’t stomp on it.”
My heart instantly saddened at that Truth. He went on, “See each and every living creature in this world is a creation of mine. I have a plan for each of them even what appears to be an ugly caterpillar – actually, the life of a caterpillar is very symbolic to the life of my children.” I thought, GENIUS – yes, it is! The world sees others who are different from them whether it is appearance, religion, skin color, etc. as ugly caterpillars when the Truth is that everyone starts as a caterpillar – no one is born a butterfly. But once we are transformed into a beautiful butterfly it seems all too easy to forget the caterpillar stage we were once in ourselves.
Each caterpillar will face something in his life bringing him into that dark cocoon. It may be challenges with friends, at work, serious health issues, divorce, addiction, loss of a loved one, etc. – each of us face that challenging time in our life. But, those dark times are the moments we are being transformed into something magnificent. We can’t always see past the darkness at the time but if we remain still and trust the plan for us, we will continue to grow within the darkness thru no effort of our own but thru strength that can only come with complete surrender. With that new found strength, we begin breaking away a piece at a time of that shell which surrounds us until we begin to see light. The fight is not easy but once we can see even the smallest hint of light, a force within us brings the highest natural rush of adrenaline. It pushes us forward bringing strength to break away more and more of that shell which encompasses us until we are completely in the light, free of any constraints. As we emerge from that dark place that we worked so hard to break free from, we realize we have been given wings to fly over the earth as something beautiful. A Life we never thought possible.
If you are still in the caterpillar stage of your journey, I encourage you to see the beautiful butterfly God sees every time He looks at you. Please do NOT see an ugly caterpillar. EVERYONE is born to be a butterfly – EVERYONE. No caterpillar is too ugly, too lost or born to remain a caterpillar. Nor are we ever given a cocoon that is stronger than any strength within us allowing us to break free from it.
If you are already a butterfly, it may be difficult to comprehend that not long ago when you would look into the mirror, all you would see staring back was an ugly caterpillar so I encourage you please don’t forget what it felt like to be a caterpillar – that humbleness allows us to see each person around us as nothing less than a beautiful butterfly. It’s important because you know first-hand how incredible it feels to break free from a cocoon as a new creation experiencing a transformation so significant that it does not even seem possible and wouldn’t have been if someone had stomped on us.
Let us see the good and encourage one another no matter where we are today in our caterpillar journey knowing that we are ALL God’s children even those who seem less than “cute” in life right – they too some day will become a beautiful butterfly – so don’t stomp the caterpillars!
Love to you all!
Sandi Rauwolf
Author, Blessings Too Good
Written 06/15/09, Posted 06/25/09
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05.26.09
Posted in Heart Tugs at 9:44 pm by Sandi Rauwolf
A couple of weeks ago Chris and Ty headed to Michigan for a Lacrosse tournament (Way to go Chiefs – they came home undefeated!) so Samantha and I found ourselves having a “girls” weekend! We had fun doing things that big girls do together – out the door we went. Samantha with purse on shoulder and baby in tow, she gently secures her baby into an extra car seat while strapping the little doll into safety. “We’re all set, Mom. Let’s go!” she said. Way too cute! All so the world could see that she was grown up enough to be mommy for the day. Her precious little 6 year old innocence was contagious! It was carefree, loving, worry-free … the kind of life we are meant to have – one of such peace. But yet instead of realizing this beautiful gift of Life she had been given, this sweet little soul wanted so desperately to leave that innocence all so she could please the world by “fitting in” proving she could be grown up! If she only knew she would spend the rest of her grown up life trying to go back to this priceless, peaceful state that was flowing from her inner-being and filling the room.
It brought to mind this scripture …
“But Jesus called the children to him and said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’” Luke 18:16-17
This scripture has multiple layers of meaning but tonight I couldn’t help but think about it this way … children are so trusting, innocent and pure in heart. The world has not yet tainted their hearts or their minds. They operate in complete trust and love! They don’t even know how to think any other way other than knowing their parents will provide every single need that they have. They know the one place where they feel secure and loved is in their Father’s arms. They receive that love openly and joyfully and then return it right back to the world! They haven’t yet gone thru experiences teaching them to feel they don’t deserve the love – instead that love is all they know. It is the very thing they count on and turn to for comfort. That love then over flows from their hearts into the world – to all of those around them without a hesitation because they have not yet realized that this beautiful gift of love is not openly received by all … that some day they will find themselves consciously determining when the love will flow and to whom; I mean after all we can only show love and kindness to our friends and family – right? We have to be safe! We don’t know if some person will take it wrong or get angry for us invading their “personal space”. They do not yet know rejection so they give and receive love freely from a pure heart.
We can learn something from these precious little children. When was the last time we were able to give and receive love freely without worrying about offending someone or having someone think that we are strange or that we are only being nice because we want something? Well, I want to share with you a neat little story about that beautiful Saturday morning with our daughter.
Samantha insisted on going to McDonalds for breakfast which never happens – lunch, dinner of course! We have seen our share of McDonalds across America but breakfast? We have our favorite breakfast place that we always go to so a request to go to McDonalds was a shocker to say the least. I asked her a couple of times to ensure that was where she wanted to go. She kept saying, “Yes, Mommy we need to go to McDonalds.” I thought, “Need?? Hmmm” So we went to McDonalds for breakfast and sat in the Playland area. We had a nice breakfast together but she quickly drank her milk. “My a thirsty little one today,” I thought so I went to get her more to drink. As I walked thru the door exiting the Playland I see this older couple walking up the sidewalk and entering the door. The husband was so gentle and kind getting the door for his wife as she pulled an oxygen tank behind her with the plastic tubing securely tucked behind her ears. I could feel her soul was heavy and then suddenly felt as if her mind was entertaining the thought of how she felt like a slave to this tank. It seemed as if it surfaced additional thoughts that she was nothing more than a burden to those around her. It’s as if I could hear her saying “they would all be better off if they didn’t have to fuss with me so much.” My heart swelled with compassion for her. I wanted to cry – I remember all too well feeling like I was that burden to others for years during my illness.
I purchased Samantha’s drink and began to walk back to the Playland. The couple was nestled in at the table right before the Playland door. I glanced over at her and at that exact time she looked up. I wanted to spread the love from my heart with the innocence of a six year old so a large smile formed across my lips and I said, “Hello! How are you doing today?” She looked at me and smiled and said, “I’m okay, thank you” and watched me walk by into the Playland.
Samantha ran over and downed the drink so fast I was wondering where this little thing was putting it! She asked me if she could have more – this was very unusual! So I turned to go back to get her another drink. I couldn’t believe that within a few minutes the line had formed so quickly – actually was so long that I found myself exactly even with their table. I felt God say to me, “Turn and offer her another smile.” So that is what I did! I turned and she was looking right at me. I smiled and she said, “Miss, do I know you?” So I stepped out of line and over to talk with her a minute. I said, “No, I don’t think so.” She said, “Well you were so friendly and kind saying hello, asking how I was so I thought I must know you.” I replied, “No, but isn’t that so true. We live in a society where instead of it being the norm to offer a smile or a kind word, it is rare and almost only exchanged between people who know each other.”
Well that led into a great conversation. I was able to share with her that I had faced some health challenges myself. I shared one of the miracles God had sent me and she was in tears. I could see the weight she had been carrying lift from her soul. I saw hope in her eyes that I’m guessing hadn’t been there for some time. God made it clear for me to give her one of my books so I gave her my phone # and email telling her I’d be happy to send her a copy of my book for free if she wanted one. I said, “I know you don’t know me so I understand if you don’t feel comfortable giving me your address.” I barely got the words out and her sweet husband said, “Give her the address Joan.” It just so happend that they lived within 10 minutes of our house so I drove a copy over to her house later that day. After dropping it off, I could not help but to let the love flow out of my heart! Actually I couldn’t have stopped it even if I wanted to! What a gift God had given me all because our beautiful daughter listened to that heart tug about going to McDonald’s for breakfast and for her contagious way of sharing love with the world.
May you love with the innocence of a six year old. Love to you all!
Sandi Rauwolf
Author, Blessings Too Good
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05.23.09
Posted in Love at 11:43 am by Sandi Rauwolf
God continues to teach me how important it is for us to go back to the basics and start digging into why exactly the universal language is Love.
“Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40
The last sentence of that really spoke to me today. “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these commandments”. Wow, Jesus was really trying to make it clear to us how important Love is – ALL the Law and Prophets hang on it. So why have we so easily looked past the number one thing the greatest teacher of all time taught and the single thing for which ALL the Law and Prophets hang?
We need to go back to basics, renew our minds and open our hearts so we can understand why unity has not yet penetrated the ends of the earth – I ask, does God fail at anything? No! So could it be that we have relied on our own understanding instead of His thus altering the teachings of Jesus? When we rely on our own understanding, quickly it becomes a religion we are teaching (yes, even Christianity can be made a religion!). Did Jesus teach religion? No – He taught Love FIRST by living it and those who didn’t He says this about:
“These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.” Matthew 15:8-9
He not only lived a life of Love but we are also told to as well:
“Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” 1 John 3:18
If we are to love, why is there so much hate and division? What exactly is going wrong in this world? So I sought His Wisdom – I asked God.
God said this to me, “Sandi, what is the very first thing you teach a baby?”
I replied, “We have to teach them Love.”
He then asked, “How do you teach a baby Love?”
I replied, “By loving them.”
He said, “Would they understand if you first tried to explain with your lips what Love meant?”
I replied, “Well of course not.”
He then asked, “What would happen if you did try to explain it to them?”
I said, “They would hear the words but not understand it.”
He then said, “And as they got a little older let’s say two years old and you tried to explain it, would they understand it then?”
I replied, “No, it would just confuse them.”
He said, “Why’s that?”
I said, “Well, they haven’t matured enough to understand Love any other way and why babies need extra Love. It’s actually the only language they understand.”
He said, “That is right my child so why is it the teachers of today are teaching everything but Love FIRST to my children?”
Tears filled my eyes, “Oh Lord, we have so failed you because we have relied on our own understanding instead of yours. It is time to teach the world Love!”
He smiled at me and said, “Yes, it is time.”
I couldn’t stop the tears. The whole reason why Jesus first taught Love penetrated my very soul. It IS time for the world to be taught Love the way it was meant to be taught and that is by living it. No longer make the mistake of relying on your own understanding when deciding who to Love – you are to Love ALL, that means regardless of any religious beliefs, skin color, status, behavior, choices, etc. It is time for the world to be healed, to be united in that beautiful universal language.
May He bless you and overflow your heart with Love so the whole world will soon know His name because “Love never fails” 1 Corinthians 13:8
Love to you all!
Sandi Rauwolf
Author, Blessings Too Good
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