(AYEP37PT2) I HAVE AN ETERNITY AHEAD OF ME: AUNTIE YONNY EPISODE 37 THE UNEXPECTED PART 2 PLANS

 

 

I HAVE AN ETERNITY AHEAD OF ME

(Intermittent Waves Recorded From The Transformed Heart Of A Woman)

AUNTIE YONNY EPISODE 37

THE UNEXPECTED PART 2 PLANS

It is an amazing thing to be humbled by God. I compare it to being somewhat like an astronaut and seeing the Earth from space for the first time. One realizes that we are but a minute fraction of the universe and a speck of dust among all of God's creations. From space, we are able to see that we are part of a bigger picture and plan. We gain some idea of the magnitude of God's Majestic Power and Domain, showing us how awesome our Father really is. It becomes even more amazing to think that Earth is but one small little planet among the billions and trillions of planets, stars, galaxies, and solar systems. To think that God loves us so much that He looks upon each individual and sees us as being significant within the vastness of His Universe is--AMAZING! Even more, He has created a specific plan for each of our lives. It can be a difficult concept to grasp, no matter from which angle or distance you are looking at it from. However, holding onto this knowledge, this Truth, one should be able to surmise that we, mankind, continue to be truly BLESSED! HALLELUJAH!

From God's perspective, nothing is impossible. Unlike us, He has an even better than birds-eye view and insight into the world, our lives, our future, and the destiny of mankind; for He is the creator of all, The Alpha and the Omega, The Beginning and the End.  God is never caught off guard by the unexpected. If we truly Believe in Him, and trust in His Word, then, we should put our faith in Him and not in ourselves, or the plans of man.

Nonetheless, we may continue to plan and plan for days or even months to achieve a goal or to carry out an event, without giving one thought to if it is the Will of God. As we act out our plans, all may seem to be well, or, on its way to falling into place. Sometimes, we can pour all of our heart into our expectations, or, others may be depending upon us to succeed. We can become so wrapped up within executing our plans that we put pressure and strain upon ourselves and others. We might believe that we have no other options. In our mind, our plans must succeed, but, this is where we become blind-sighted, unprepared, or ill-prepared for the unexpected.


We may not have meant to leave God out of our planning, or through our ignorance, or, pride and arrogance, we simply may have not seen the necessity to consult and/or include God first. Yet, God is always in control and while we were planning, God is also planning on our behalf, or, on behalf of His Kingdom. Sometimes, the unexpected happens when our plans do not coincide with Gods, or God may allow something to happen within our plans to teach us and help us to grow in unconditional love, faith, holiness, and righteousness.


Still, there are other factors into play. Last, but, not least, we must consider the plans of the adversary. And, although we do not live in fear of his plotting and scheming against us, we must be sure that we are walking by faith, in the Light of God, according to His purpose for our lives, protected by His Armour and bearing Good Fruit. Most assuredly, God is always prepared for the scheming of the adversary, for, he can do nothing that God does not allow him to do.


It is within the unexpected that we are often given the opportunity for redemption through God's Grace and Mercy, if we humble ourselves and submit to HIS WILL. To most Believers, always putting your trust in God is not only sound advice, but, part of the basis of believing.  The instructions for believing and trusting God appear to be fairly simple to follow, but, are they? How do they become complicated for us? God tells us to have faith in Him and who is our faith, but Christ Jesus? We are told to follow Jesus, our Shepherd. The instructions, sound simple. So, why then do we sometimes end up as lost sheep, having strayed away from the flock, becoming disconnected from God? Why do we become so blinded by fear, that we are even afraid to return to our Father and His Will and Way? We are blinded to the fact that The Master and The Chief Shepherd welcome the lost sheep back with loving, open arms.

When we are in the flesh (self), our appearance can affect our behavior, how we see ourselves, and the decisions that we make in our lives. Blinded by our pride, we cannot see that we are led by darkness.

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She had left very early that morning because it was getting harder to get ready and go to work. Her very pregnant body had become very awkward and although she hadn't gained that much weight, there was no hiding her condition anymore.  She also knew that she better leave before Derek got home and made a fuss over her working so late in her pregnancy. He had wanted her to stop working at The Daily months ago. However, besides loving her job, working kept her active and healthy, which was good for the baby.

No, there was no hiding her condition from everyone at The Daily anymore. She hadn't invested a lot of money in maternity clothes, so, at first glance, one could tell that her ill-fitting clothes weren't meant to be occupied by two individuals.

It was also pretty obvious that she had trouble getting comfortable at her desk. An older co-worker, a mother of seven, brought her a small pillow for her back and gave her advice on childbirth. She asked Rachel if she was going to go natural. Not having given it much thought, Rachel had no idea what she was talking about at first and told her that she'd always been a red-head. She felt very silly and naïve when it suddenly occurred to her that her co-worker was referring to a method of childbirth. Her doctor had asked her which method she preferred, but, at the time she didn't know. However, she was running out of time and would have to make up her mind soon.

No longer able to sit close to her desk, she had to find ways to reach for things. After walking down the hallway and hearing giggles and chuckles from her co-workers, someone finally told her that the shared amusement was all in fun, being that she had developed a noticeable waddle. She couldn't believe that she, Rachel Montgomery, now held the title of "The Pregnant Girl At The Office." However, it did have its perks, though. No one dared to fight her over the last doughnut in the break room, unless they wanted to get dirty looks from the rest of their co-workers for the rest of the day. No one said anything about her new habit of taking her shoes off and walking around the office barefooted, or, putting her feet up for awhile. Yes, pregnancy had its perks when it came to getting parking spaces at work and not having to stand in line for the lady's room. She hadn't paid much attention to these concessions when other women were pregnant, but, she had come to appreciate them and her co-workers even more.


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After eating dinner and helping his wife to tidy up the kitchen, Pastor Allen sat in his big over-stuffed easy chair and opened his favorite newspaper to catch up on local happenings and current events. It was a pass-time handed down from his father, who looked upon it as a responsibility in being a well-informed citizen and helping to preserve free speech through one of the major institutions of democracy--the free press.

The age of the internet and social media had threatened to make newspapers and magazines extinct. It was something that men like Willard Graves and Putin had tried to coerce, in order to kill democracy and spread autocracy. But, thanks to people who shared his father's views, a good portion of the newspaper industry had survived by connecting themselves to the shifting and ever changing technological media that rose and fell throughout the years. Like most trends and technology, it reached its peak and began to spiral downward and level off. There was room at the top for the competition after-all.

Newspapers and magazines had proved that they weren't ancient dinosaurs on the verge of extinction, but, a necessary and adaptable wheel needed to turn, disseminate, drive ideas, and further education, leading to change, discovery, creativity, invention, interaction, justice, accountability, and more. They disproved the accusations that they were merely antiquated paper record keepers, historical scribes, puppets of big business, exploiters, and tools of manipulation.

Competing with a high-tech society where young people were born into using electronic technology and computers for everything was a struggle and there was a lot of cleaning house to remove bad influences, but, it was well-worth the pain. Those who criticized and condemned journalism and newspapers, expecting them to crawl into the pages of history like the dinosaurs, did not take into account the difference between the brain of a dinosaur and the brain of a human being.

By changing the role of the journalists to meet the needs of the people, newspapers were able to become the wheels that helped to drive social media, while presenting unbiased and objective information to the public. Later, a gap in communication, created by a younger generation entirely dependent upon social media, helped to create a lack of credible information. The uncontrollable growth in misinformation caused restrictions and government regulations that many found to be intolerable, driving them away from social media and opening a door once again to the newspaper industry. The internet, no longer free, became inaccessible to the very people who had made it so popular, driving them away from its usage. It had lost its appeal to many due to its lack of diversity and relativity, and the danger of fines and punishment from the government. A shortage of local news reporting, reaffirmed the necessity for local newspapers. Bureaucracy had found another way to drain money from the poor and middle class and another vehicle to oppress, manipulate, and keep them powerless, by denying them a voice, education, and information. It had begun to use the internet as a tool to deceive the public and to control the masses.


Pastor Allen smiled and sighed, recalling how his father had been a spokesman and advocate on behalf of newspapers and journalism. "Newspapers are able to adapt because they represent the IDEAS of men." He would say. "Ideas do not die, they simply change and evolve. Newspapers give ideas a voice and the opportunity for men and women from all walks of life and socioeconomic status to be heard and contribute to society. If we silence newspapers and journalists, we take away  free speech for ALL in a democracy. Can we rely upon the rich or well-off to speak for the poor who may not have access to the conveniences of modern technology or the money or power to use them for their benefit? Can we cut off the hands and legs of democracy so that people become disenfranchised, uninformed, and unable to live in the equality and freedom that is rightfully theirs as citizens?"

His father was a great speaker, he thought, because, he cared deeply about people. Sometimes, it wasn't so much the words that he said, but, the way that he expressed them. Allen Fitzgerald knew that the words came from somewhere deep within his father; a place that was so much greater than he was. His father humbled himself to let this power use him; this power being God, alone.

His father had made a choice to STAND, resist, and persist, at a time when men and women saw no need to hold on to anything that resembled or reminded them of the bleak and negative past they had emerged from. He had made a stand against wealthy businessmen and ambitious politicians who were trying to repair the bad reputation they had rightly earned from dishonest dealings and deceiving the public during the Graves administration.

The Graves administration. Pastor Allen remembered his meeting with David and Hal Siegfried, the estranged and unknown Graves family members. What stand did God want him to take, if any? He thought about Rachel being pregnant and the danger she was in. This wasn't something that could wait. Would God give him an answer, now?

He refolded the newspaper and noticed Derek Graves on the front page. He and his opponent seemed to be running a close tie in the polls. It was going to be a close election, if nothing happened to tarnish either of the candidates. Thinking about that, he walked to his study, where he often knelt and prayed. Before he closed the door, he began talking to God.


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The next morning, Allen Fitzgerald arose early, also. He was on a mission unlike his usual missions. He hadn't seen Rachel in a while and although he felt he was being led by God, he had an uneasy feeling about what he was about to do. Sure, he'd agreed to meet some members at their places of employment before, but, that was at their request. He was about to drop in on Rachel, unexpectedly. Should he have done this months ago? He asked himself. After all, she is part of the Master's flock entrusted into his care. Had he been negligent? Filled with fear? It appeared as if he had given up on Rachel and just left her to the world. Whose eyes had he been seeing through and whose heart had he been following? He searched his mind for others whom he might have forsaken and whose fate he had simply handed over to the wolves. Was he setting an example of Christ?

As he continued beating up on himself, with more guilt and shame, God's Holy Spirit spoke to Him, telling him that there is a reason for everything. Allen knew that meant that he was in the process of learning a lesson from God, not to punish him, but, to help him become a better servant and help him live more abundantly, that is, bearing Good Fruit.

Having clergy identification had helped him get into a lot of places that normally took a lot of time and authorization to obtain clearance, although, he sometimes questioned the reasoning of this haphazard practice. Terrorists had exploited the trust of security in several hospitals and government agencies, by impersonating clergy, then, killing hundreds of people through various means in their spree of carnage to invoke fear. A larger and more connected identification database had minimized security breaches, but, still, he thought, people were still too lenient and careless when it came to admitting clergy into public places.  However, although he still felt strongly about more stringent and consistent security measures, today was one of the days he chose not to criticize too harshly. He'd rather not have to answer any questions about why he was there without an appointment and without Rachel's knowledge.

Through talking with Rachel, he knew what department she worked in and that she had her own office. The information desk was helpful in directing him to the exact floor and office number. As the elevator rose to the ninth floor, he could feel anxiety and his blood pressure rising. He realized that he had been living in fear and it had kept him from being a good shepherd. He had failed to care more about the welfare of the sheep, than himself, and the eyes of the world upon him. He asked God for forgiveness, guidance, and the courage borne of His unconditional love for others.

When he exited the elevator on the ninth floor, he realized there was no turning back. He felt as if everyone's eyes were upon him. There was no hiding place. Suddenly, feeling the quickening of God's Holy Spirit, he was filled with comfort and encouragement. It was the same feeling he felt before he brought forth the Word of God during service. He knew God was with him and there was no need to fear; for fear is not of God. He began to recite to himself, who he was in Christ.

Then, God told him to take the focus off of himself and think about His sheep, remembering who Rachel is in Christ. God spoke to him and said, "My lost sheep must be brought back into the fold. The battle isn't over. Stand here. Stand NOW." Allen Fitzgerald put on the Armour of God and within his heart, being led by the Mind of Christ, continuing in prayer and holy communion with God, he prepared for spiritual warfare to reclaim God's sheep.