The Mad Hatter

Saturday, today, marked yet another milestone on my Passionate Path. The hats I ordered to wear during/after my hair loss arrived in a large, white, simply sealed envelope. There were no fanfares nor special bells and whistles attached.Mixed emotions stirred in me. I say mixed emotions because I was looking for the arrival of this package with anticipation ever since I placed the order on the TLC website, yet when they arrived, a sadness came over me. I didn't want to touch the package. This lasted all of 30 seconds...an unopened package in the mail? That's like laying a bag of M & M's in front of a child and instructing them not to touch it. I opened it, not with a heart of a child getting a gift, but rather more like a woman with cancer facing another reality about the inevitable. The fatigue that I have been fighting since March/April of last year has worsened and we all know how difficult it is to keep your "chin up" when tired. It is in these exact moments that O- FROGs are most needed as well as the circumstances below on which I speak.
  I heard something the other day; All Christians will be persecuted ( Written several times in the bible,) but not all Christians will be persecuted in the same way). There are humans being tortured and killed in manners we would never imagine because they refuse to give up their faith in Christ. Here in America , we are being persecuted in much more subtle ways yet still just as destructive: Television shows, apathy towards sexual immorality, peer pressures, consumed by life's schedule to the point where God is last,etc...all try to deviate us from the path that He has laid before us. I never thought about how different being a Christian made us. Anything that is different from a society's "norm" will be a target by the secular world to try to force them to conform. Fear of financial downfall in the U.S. is another ploy used by the evil one to destroy Christianity. God led me to read Job and I thought it was because of the suffering Job had endured in such faith. I quickly realized that my cancer was nothing compared to what this saintly man lived through. Although this is a good message to receive from the reading...reminder that my sufferings do not compare to the suffering of others such as Christ Himself, the main message that He laid on my heart was one that told me; When I believe totally in God and live a faithful life according to His word, it will not exclude me from pain and suffering. It's natural to question God's purposes, but ultimately it's how I stand on faith, that determines whether or not the subtleness of satan takes over. Job's friends lost favor from God because they judged Job and did not give God credit for knowing what He was doing. I am so very blessed to be working in an environment that does not persecute but rather supports my Christian life.
  The moral of my "Mad Hatter" experience? Satan get behind me....your subtle attempt to place dread and fear in my heart did not take root because the seed from Christ was planted long before you had a chance. I've been nurturing God's seed of faith through the Holy Spirit several times daily with the choices of music I listen to, the choices of television shows that enter through my eyes and ears, the type of people that I choose to surround myself with and most importantly the saturation of God's word that can only come from reading the bible. Thank You Almighty Father for the wisdom of discernment You give me to recognize the evil one and his attempts to undermine what You have done and continue to do in my life. You are the most High, the most Exalted, the most Holy One, Abba. Amen.. Alleuia! Amen...
As for the hats, they hold no power of fear over me. As a matter of fact, I will look quite chic in them.
Loving My God and you,
Patti