Just a note to my readers that The Faith Cafe will be taking a short break for the next while.
I’ll look forward to reconnecting with you later in the summer with more articles about God’s love and how we can find Him all around us.
In the meantime, I hope you have a wonderful summer filled with God’s richest blessings!
In Christ,
Lori Cartmell
Did you know that some birds and bees can see things that are completely invisible to us? They’re able to see in infrared, just beyond the wavelengths of the visible light spectrum that human eyes can detect.
What looks to us like a regular pink flower might resemble a helicopter landing pad to a bee. Where we see only the uniform expanse of one colour, the bee may see a target-shaped design involving different colours. The bee’s infrared vision allows it to home in on the most nectar-rich part of the flower.
The world looks completely different when you can see in infrared.
I sometimes think that God sees us in “infrared.” He can see things in us that are invisible to others, and even to ourselves.
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Once this pandemic is over, psychologists warn that many of us may suffer from post-traumatic stress for some time to come.
Some of us will have seen our business close down for good, suffered isolation and loneliness, or may have even lost a loved one during the COVID-19 crisis.
But is PTSD a given in these circumstances? Is there different outcome that can occur, an unexpected benefit that may arise out of these difficult times?
Psychologists say yes: there’s such a thing as post-traumatic growth.
It’s been found in survivors of war, cancer, and natural disasters. Some people emerge from a crisis with increased spirituality, a greater sense of personal strength, new priorities and closer relationships with others. What could have broken them actually made them better.
This phenomenon reminds me a bit of “sea glass.” Sea glass, or beach glass, found washed up on shores, starts out as merely cast-aside pieces of broken glass. Perhaps they’ve been tossed overboard from a ship, or thrown into the sea from land along with other garbage.
These shards of glass endure years of being buffeted against the stones of the sea bottom. It seems like they’re being dashed about mercilessly by the relentless action of the waves. Surely no good could come of this?
But then, something almost magical emerges.
Read moreHave you ever heard the phrase “start as you mean to go on”?
Maybe your parent or teacher taught it to you. But what exactly does it mean?
It means to begin doing something in the same manner that you intend to continue doing it: to set a consistent pattern of behaviour right from the start.
That way, everyone will know what to expect from you, and they won’t end up disappointed.
Many of us have a hard time being consistent. We start out the new year with grand resolutions about exercising more, being a better parent, or reading the Bible.
But then our enthusiasm wavers, we get busy, and our resolutions fall by the wayside.
What about Jesus? Did Jesus start as He meant to go in His earthly ministry?
Let’s take a look at His first miracle and see what we find out.
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