Daily Reflection

“God is not punishing you. God is preparing you. Trust God’s plans, not your pain.” (Artsy Christian)

When I came across today’s quote, I knew instantly I wanted to write a daily reflection about it, simply because I’ve struggled for years now wondering at times if I’m being punished by God for all my past transgressions, as I know there have been a lot of them in this life alone. Yet, somehow, I find myself constantly returning to the belief that maybe it’s just human beings who have labeled God as this wrathful punisher of people, as doesn’t that judgment always seem to come at the precise moments in our lives when things aren’t going the way our ego wants and desires?

So, if that’s not the case, and God really isn’t a punishing God, then why does God allow such difficult pain and suffering to occur for many of us in our lives? Could it be solely to help prepare us for some greater plan that is beyond our understanding? Is it possible that our pain and suffering is simply a level of discipline that Jesus once talked about, that becomes truly necessary to help us reach our highest potential in life? I know that’s a hard concept to swallow and believe me when I saw that my ego often fights this very notion, especially when I’m going through a stream of days, weeks, months, and even years where my mind and body writhes in agony more than not.

But, there is something quite good that’s actually come out of all this pain and suffering that probably wouldn’t have happened if I never had to face any of my health issues in the first place. You see, it’s all this pain and suffering that’s driven me to rid myself of every bit of hate, anger, negativity, and judgment that once consumed the majority of my life. And the more I’ve done that, the more I seem to cultivate higher and higher levels of compassion, unconditional love, acceptance, and forgiveness of others, which are four things I never had much of before all my pain and suffering began.

Thus, to put it rather bluntly, I’m leaning more and more these days to believe that God is like a loving parent who disciplines their child, solely to protect them from going down paths that will only lead to more pain and suffering and away from them ever reaching their highest potential. Sure, many of us often fight that discipline whenever it feels present and instead choose to take our free will somewhere else. But, honestly, where has that ever gotten you? For me, fighting the discipline has usually just led to an even deeper pit of despair filled with an even greater level of pain and suffering.

That’s why I’m opting to place my hope and faith more so nowadays in the idea that God is actually preparing me for something greater through all this pain and suffering, rather than believing it’s simply a punishment for all my past transgressions. As given the growing level of connection I feel in my heart today to everyone and everything, I ultimately am seeing more good coming out of this discipline than not. And frankly, I would gladly rather remain on this path, than go back to any day before all this pain and suffering began, where my life was engulfed in far too much negative energy and darkness.

Dear God, if I’m ever wrong, please correct me. If I’m ever lost, please guide me. And if I ever start to give up, especially on You, please help me to keep going and to keep trusting in You.

Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson

Thought For The Day

Quote #1

When I’m worried, it’s usually because I’m trying to do everything myself. When I’m at peace, it’s usually because I remember that God is in control.” (Dave Willis)

Quote #2

“God doesn’t give us what we can handle, God helps us handle what we have been given.” (Unknown)

Quote #3

“Whenever you do not understand what’s happening in your life, just close your eyes, take a deep breath and say, “God I know this is your plan, please just help me through it.” (Unknown)

Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson

Grateful Heart Monday

Welcome to another Grateful Heart Monday where I write about one piece of gratitude to start my week off on the right foot, which for today is for my Higher Power, whom I refer to as God.

I was actually surprised when I realized I hadn’t written a piece of gratitude yet for all the help I believe God’s given me throughout my life since starting this Grateful Heart Monday series. With this entry marking my 14th week of doing this, I wanted to make sure I didn’t continue this definite oversight any further. With that being said, I’ve been through an incredible amount of suffering in this life that by all means, I should be dead or at the very minimum, heavily medicated just to function. But thank God I’m not either and am able to honor God today through this very writing.

You see, it’s God who helped me survive a very rough and dysfunctional childhood that included mental and emotional abuse, bullying, and molestation, as I know without God I would have taken my life way back then.

You see, it’s God who removed all the compulsions to engage in a number of addictions from alcohol and drugs to sex and love that my self-will was never able to overcome and that would most certainly have driven me to death if I had kept engaging with any of them.

You see, it’s God who helped me to persevere after the tragic deaths of my father’s suicide and my mother’s drunken fall down the stairs, when my ego told me time and time again to give up and that life wasn’t worth living anymore.

You see, it’s God who helped me overcome the loss of my business and the majority of my financial stability, by guiding me to the Boston area when all that began happening, as there I’d lay the foundation to my 12 Step recovery life that would provide me an incredible support network to get through it all.

And you see, it’s God who’s helped me for the past six years to keep going, even in the midst of all this chronic pain and health issues, as I’ve never have to do any of it alone because of the many good teachers and friends God placed in my life along the way to keep lifting me up when I couldn’t do it for myself.

So, yes, I’m extremely grateful to God today for helping me to keep on, keeping on, one day at a time, year after year, in a life that has been more difficult than not to simply exist.

I know some may say that God gave me a crappy life to live with all that I’ve had to endure, and probably scratch their heads as to why I still feel so grateful to God. But I choose to look at it differently, as I’m a survivor and someone who sees all my trials and tribulations in life as things I can now help God help others with and to me that’s something to be 100% grateful for on this Grateful Heart Monday.

Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson