A word about "Mission" from...Sumshee




07/13/08

Hi ! Sumshee here.

Am I REALLY declaring a mission here?
Well, sort of. How far this will go, I am not sure. But I feel that I must put this out there at LEAST once on this website.

My mother was a strong believer in Jesus Christ, God and all that other stuff.
In my naive youngest years, I went along with it, interjecting occasional bold questions here and there like,
“Gee, Mom, why is Jesus pictured to look more like a surfer dude than a camel jockey?...he was from 'over there', right?"
(I got a back-hand with that one, which happened maybe three times in my life. Mom was NOT much on smacking her kids.)
It WAS a smart-ass sounding and irreverently phrased comment... but well pointed and seriously considered.

As the years moved along, I compared notes out in the real world...meeting actual Jews and atheists and Buddhists, etc.
Eventually, getting my own apartment, I was simply setting myself UP for that oft-dreaded knock on the door.
JEHOVAH’S WITTNESSES!....AAAAHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhh!
NOOOO!.....NOT JW’s....eeeeeeeeeeee!
I saw some coming one afternoon and thought, “Oh, why not?”
They get such a bad press. They seem to be polite. What harm could come from sitting and talking? I have questions about life, the universe and everything, just as does everyone else. Maybe they can teach me something. And if we disagree, there is always the possibility of a stimulating conversation and the opportunity for an occasional repartee on my part.
But, in my opinion, there was no difference than the brainwash-stalemate of ANY two parties pretending to listen to the other’s views, all the while pre-determined to discount ANY of the other party’s opinions or argumentation.
But I sure DID learn something: Always tell friends to, when dropping by un-announced, ring the bell with three shorts and one long.

Anyway, at the end of most of those spirited and loving “debates” with Mom, there was always an ultimate show of appreciation on her part, of my spirit, with her forboding comment, “...that’s all fine and well, but you mark my words: some day, YOU will become a preacher!”.
Uh-huh.

Well, I certainly DO have a perspective on things and I KNOW that I CAN go on about certain topics about which I am passionate. But she was a bit off-station as to the core beliefs which I might espouse.

My comments here will grow, I am sure, but what kick-started this idea was something I , for the second time, came across this mornng on the web. I have only begun to check out this website. I have yet to determine if the overall perspective is supportive or critical of conventional religion.
So far, it seems to be the latter.
Whether or not much happens here, on this site, with this “topic”, I implore you to check out the website,
http://www.whydoesgodhateamputees.com
In particular, you might go right to this NEXT link early-on... it kinda sets the pace for where the overall site SEEMS to go.
http://www.whydoesgodhateamputees.com/god5.htm

Do this with an open mind. Go into it to learn, not fight...as well, not to automatically accept the site’s seeming intended projection. Open minds, folks.

When there are some addtions to anything here, I will send out a mention of it. I also call out to anyone to suggest any lines of discussion, artwork, “evidence”,.....whatever...related to what I have said or what you find on “whydoesgodhateamputees.com” , etc.


See ya over coffee,

Sumshee


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Well, I got what I hinted for...a great line of thought pertaining to the previous commentary.
This comes from my friend Leslie.
She speaks:


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07/16/08

Last fall, a little girl with a heart defect, who I had been praying for for three years, died from complications of her surgeries and hospitalization. It was one of those cases where she got sick from those germs that circulate in the hospital. She died of sepsis, at age 3.5.

That child had a legion (excuse the bad pun) of prayer "warriors." I mean, thousands of people praying for her miraculous healing. She'd survived three heart surgeries, surely she would pull through this infection.

What has truly been touching in all of this is how strong that family was made by the support of the people praying for their daughter. I know it has broken their hearts. It was hard for me to see them in photos from a Disney vacation with their two surviving children, six months after the youngest child died, but I had to step back and go "well, that is truly about *my* sense of loss, and putting myself into the place of this family, and realizing how much pain and responsibility there would be in the loss of a child--for whatever reason."

And then I took yet another step back and thought about the two surviving children, and how much the parents must work to maintain a healthy, loving family for those kids--really, they can only afford to fall apart *so* much without casting a pall and a major depression all over their family life. And I ended up feeling small in comparison to that family--but only momentarily. Then I felt inspired, and strengthened, myself.

And if I hadn't given my heart to that prayer circle, and to hope for the miraculous healing of that child, then I wouldn't have gotten so much meaning out of some little girl's fight for her life and eventual death.

My gut feeling, about the amputee thing, is that God puts down challenges for all of us. For some, it is the loss of a leg. For others, it is the loss of a child. Even in the Bible, Jesus restores dead children to life. Technically, that family I wrote about could have prayed for that.

I don't believe faith is *supposed* to be easy. I believe it requires really tough decisions, and that only a part of that is supposed to be done by our head. We've got a heart for a reason, and shutting it off seems inhuman.

There are times when the human experience is so overwhelming I wonder if God really knew what she was up to when she dumped all this on us. But then I look at the rest of the world around me and I realize it is good to be small, and non-omnipotent, and to rely on faith to face each day. I do not truly believe we would be alive, healthy, beautiful (as you surely are), intelligent, creative, vibrant, were we not patterned on a maker who is so full of goodness and chaos and beauty that it flows from her very fingers.

It is quite likely that God loves amputees, and that the power of prayer is much like the power of a cheering crowd at a sporting event.
Maybe it helps, maybe it doesn't.

At the end of writing this, I realize--it helped *me*, even if it didn't help that kid.

Leslie
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