Daily Reflection

Today’s daily reflection comes from the following parable titled “A Little Boy’s Story” and is by Stine Gro Struksnaes:  

A boy sat down, he looked so sad
his toy had gone apart
He tried to fix it, but too bad! –
he just wasn’t that smart.

“Oh Father, help me!” was his cry,
“please fix this toy for me!”
“My pleasure, son”, the quick reply
as he came close to see. 

The boy bowed down and tried anew,
each time with greater zeal
But as the night drew close he knew
his failure was too real. 

He then looked up and cried again;
“My Father! Don’t you care?
You told me you would help me
but your hand was never there!”

“My precious son”, the father said,
as he in love bowed down,
“I waited here all afternoon
while you tried on your own –

I could not fix your toy, you see,
cause you did not let go,
but give me please each broken part,
and I will fix it now!”

And so the story ended
with a happy little boy
who finally gave all to dad
who fixed his broken toy.

Have you a broken story,
or a broken bleeding heart –
something that is too hard to fix
a dream that broke apart? –

Then give it to your Father –
your loving Friend above
Just leave it all in His big hands
and trust a Father’s love.

These words hold much significance in my life given how often I’ve asked God for help but continued to handle things on my own. All of the paths I took with addictions went this way until I discovered I couldn’t fix any of them by myself. Lately, I’ve come to see the same holds true with my health and healing. Each of my own individual attempts to get healthier quicker have generally gone nowhere or only made things worse for me. While there are times here and there I still try to fix something with my health, I’ve come to understand that for me to become fully “fixed”, it’s going to take me completely trusting in God’s love and leaving it in God’s hands. It’s a challenge on most days to remain on this path, but one I know I must adhere to. Because I know in doing so, God will be put back together again in great working order.

I pray I stop trying to fix myself on every level and instead trust inherently in God to do it for me, as I know God can and will.

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

Daily Reflection

“Peace is in the simple moments…” (Unknown)

I’ve been praying every single day as of late to feel some sense of peace within me. Given the storm that has been raging on for so long in my life now, I’ve begun to believe that if I could just feel even a mere fraction of my Higher Power’s peace, I would be content with however long this storm may end up lasting, or with any others that may possibly arise as well. Yet day in and day out it seemed as if peace continued to elude me, that was until I realized I was looking way too hard for it. That realization came when I sat along Lake Erie recently, on a relatively warm and mostly breezeless winter day. As there, I looked out upon the water and watched its ripples emanate outward endlessly, while the sun warmed my face and the birds gracefully flew overhead. You see it was in those serene moments that I truly discovered my Higher Power’s peace is probably always there for me to tap into. I guess I just needed to see something as simple as the tranquility of Lake Erie during that sunny winter day to remind me of that.

I pray I remain open to experiencing all of Your Peace God, no matter how simple or small of a package it may come in…

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson

Daily Reflection

“Hold the vision, Trust the process.” (Unknown)

A friend of mine sent me this quote late last year on Facebook and it’s one that I’ve been pondering ever since. Given how aware he has been for some time of all that I’ve been going through, the quote really has been more than fitting for me. The fact is I’ve been doing my absolute best to hold onto a vision of a life with far less pain for quite awhile now. Early on when most of my health issues began, I have to say that trusting the process of how I found myself healing was definitely way more easy to do. But, the longer I’ve continued to endure it, the more I’ve found myself doubting whether my vision will ever come to fruition. I realize though that most people in my shoes would probably be feeling the same way I do as of late, given the length of time that has passed since all this started. Yet somehow I’ve still held onto my vision of a much healthier life through it all and kept on trusting that my Higher Power is guiding the entire process I’ve been going through. It is said that all one needs is a mustard seed of faith, which is a tiny thing indeed. Thank goodness I know I have at least that because if I didn’t, I would have already given up. This is what’s called blind faith and it’s something many struggle with on their spiritual journey in life, especially when the going gets rough and stays rough for a long period of time. So while I may not understand this healing process my Higher Power has been having me go through for so long now, I’m choosing to maintain my blind faith, to hold onto the dream of a far healthier life and believe that God truly knows what He’s doing with me.

I pray my faith does not waver through any of Your healing efforts with me God. I pray I continue to hold onto my vision of everything working out and keep on trusting You are with me every step of the way there.

Peace, love, light, and joy,

Andrew Arthur Dawson