“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”

-Paul, to The Church in Colossae

Hold on.

We live in a time of uncertainty. A time of tragedy. Pain. Anxiety. Depression. Hopelessness. All are within reach of Modern Man. Mental Illness is on the incline. Mankind is ready to snap. Or he is ready to break under the weight of the load. Has he begun to bear more than he is designed to withstand?

I look before me and what do I see? At the time of this writing I see my Mother In Law breaking under the load of watching my (Step) Father In Law slowly die. She has been by his side for over five months now. From the hospital, to the nursing home, to the hospital, to the nursing home, and now he approaches his final breath in hospice care at yet another nursing home. From having Faith and Hope, to knowing that Hope is now gone. Our visions in our mind’s eye of him coming home, walking and moving again, and us talking about that rough patch are gone. We wait by our phones awaiting the words that just last year we never thought that we would hear. At least not this soon. Not like this. For he is a good man. He loved my Bride’s mother with all his heart. He loved his step daughters as if they were his own. His grandchildren were his everything. He was there for us when he did not have to be. Always helping. To me he was like a second father. It does not seem fair that he has had to suffer through a long agonizing slow death. What did he do to deserve this? Nothing. Yet now my Mother In Law sits, awaiting the breath that will be his last. At the writing of this those breaths are counting down. When this writing is published he will no longer be with us.

To my right I see our own personal storm. A soul crushing debt that cannot be managed. People harassing me for their money. Rightfully so. However, my labor lackey “low man on the Totem Pole” wages can no longer keep up with the sky rocketing cost of living in Trump’s America. I have depleted all options as I dedicate what was once my free time, my family time, to another job. And even then it is still not enough. I count the hours and ask myself “Can it be humanly possible to work a third job? When would I sleep?” I roll around in my mind the possibility of sacrificing myself to working 20 hours a day. Maybe Death will come swiftly? They then will talk about me for years. “The Man Who Literally Sacrificed Himself For The Sake Of Providing For His Family”. The man who was left behind and fell through the cracks of the broken system. The “Forgotten Man”.

To my left I see my wife’s grandparents falling into the clutches of Dementia. Our elderly next door neighbor’s house vacant as they too have fallen into its clutches and now reside in a nursing home. Many loved ones battling Cancer at the same time. Their candles burn at both ends. 

Behind me I see Governor White Witch of my home state of Virginia. Raising punishing taxes that will take more money from the citizens of the state. Passing gun control laws that will make most of the law abiding citizens of the state a criminal for simply exercising their God given right to defend themselves and their loved ones. Trying to make it illegal for anyone to criticize Islam, all the while crucifying Christians in the public square for sharing the Love of Christ. Rewriting district lines so as to steal the representative voice from the Republicans that make up a majority of the state. In time the oppression will increase. In time other states will follow suit, if they have not already. In time Conservatism will be hung with the noose above a six foot deep pit. Buried under the oppression of laws designed to enslave one man so as to give freedom to another. 

Beyond the horizon there are the wars and rumors of wars. A careless president trying to incite World War III by bombing a nation full of blood thirsty men who have no conscience. Who do not care for decorum or rules. Their life’s work to wipe America from the face of the earth. Many other nations standing at the ready to fight by their side. Many nations not willing to assist us. There are wars in our streets. The Elites and The Voice have succeeded in turning us against each other. On one side are people that desire that which is to be preserved. Faith, family, and freedom. On the other side are people that desire a new way of life. Socialism, Communism, and any other form of government control. A people that desire chaos and eschew law and order. Chaos in the streets and chaos within the fabric of society. A people that hate America. And these two fight each other. Slashing each other’s throats in the comment sections with serrated tongues. Waving signs and attacking anyone that appears to be a threat to their ideology. A people divided. So much so that many would applaud the demise of the other.

Then there is The System. A system designed to enslave man to The Man. Working until it hurts just to try to survive. Only to repeat it again and again and again. For a lifetime as he strives to retire when he is too old to enjoy freedom. That is, if he lives that long. Chained to another man’s passion and ideals. Only to be a rung in someone else’s ladder. He is in a battle to struggle to survive. As powerful Elites dictate the temperature. He has no say over his compensation. He has no say over the decisions that The Man makes. Whether or not he is let go or can stay. He has no control over the cost of his electricity that lines the pockets of another. No control over the price of gasoline that fattens another’s wallet. No control over the cost of a loaf of bread that pours the champagne of the rich. If such things outpace his means, then what does he have? The realization sets in that he devotes his life to the struggle, only to ask the question “Why am I here if I cannot win this battle? Is this worth it? Is it ever enough?”. In time he is worn down in flesh and spirit. In time this wearing down leads him to numbness. He can no longer feel. He can no longer care. And no… it is never enough.

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”

-From The Book of Hebrews

So when I see these things, how do I respond? To be honest I too have become numb like our previously mentioned example. But what does this mean for me? Do I not care about the debts and my Father In Law? Yes, I do care. But I have learned to dance in the rain. To look beyond the storm and set my eyes upon The Christ. But not in the sense of Hope. No. For we can only close our eyes in the midst of the tempest and tell ourselves that the sun is shining for so long. Deceiveing ourselves eventually wears out. To deny that which is real can only last for so long as surrealism tears away bit by bit. But, like John Coffey said in The Green Mile, “I’m tired boss…”. I too am tired. I have grown weary of the things of this world. Nothing surprises me anymore. From an unexpected bill, to illness, to something shocking in the headlines (such as “Mother sets children on fire to watch them die”). I’ve not just become weary, but nonchalant. I’m tired of it all and I can care no longer for the burdens of this world. But do not fret. I still love my life and those that God has given me into my care. Those are the things that mean the world to me. I have not tied my own noose at the end of the rope that I hold on to. Trust me, the debts will burn too in God’s Judgment. The things that matter will carry on into the next life.

“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.“

-Paul, from his letter to Timothy

I set my eyes upon The Christ to wait upon His return. I hold onto Him in hopes that the sky will be rolled back as a scroll and He will call us, The Bride, home to be with Him. That the deafening trumpet blast will send our gaze into the Heavens with joy as the oppressors cover their ears and fall to the ground in fear. That is my Hope. Not that things will improve. Because they will not. Satan is working hard on global and local levels and he knows that his time is limited. From corrupt governments to the man dying in a bed not his own. He will continue to turn up the heat. But my Hope rests in The Great Reset. The only remedy for a world that has spun out of control from the cancer diagnosis named Darkness. The return of Christ and The Rapture. I cannot cry loud enough “Please, come Lord Jesus!” I am more than ready for all of The Saints to leave this wretched place and to watch it all burn. 

In my mind’s eye I have often witnessed my family and I cheering in the brief moment that we have before we ascend. May that be a reality someday.

But what about the things of this earth that matter? Do I want to see my children grow up and start their own life? Yes. Do I want to watch them get married? Yes. Do I want to walk my daughter down the aisle? Yes. Do I want to hold my grandchildren? Yes. Do I want to know what it will feel like to someday have a career where I do not have to choose between groceries and paying bills? Yes. Do I want to finally be able to buy our first house? Yes. Do I want to continue to grow old by my bride’s side? Where we talk about the good old days while we sit in an empty nest, missing the chaos and the noise? Yes. However, there has to be a disconnect somewhere. Every one that is caught up with Christ will have something that they wish they could have experienced in life. At some point we will miss out on something. God will not stay his hand until one generation has lived life to the fullest. Because the next generation will come up and say “Now it’s my turn”.

Which is why we must as well let go.

In order for us to fully hold on to Christ in Hope and to be prepared to be removed from this world, we must let go of this world. Both the good and the bad. Many of us shudder to think of having to say goodbye to the things that could have been. Many of us will feel that, when we see Him in the clouds, our lives are incomplete. That there is so much more that we are missing. We may say with a broken heart “No Lord! Not Yet!” However, when we turn our eyes from Him and look at the broken suffering world around us, that incompleteness will pale in comparison to what can be. Where we are made complete in a realm that such brokenness and sorrow cannot be found. That is if we can direct our eyes away from Him.

A place where the lame walk again. A place where broken minds are restored. A place where physical and spiritual debts are wiped clean. A place where Sickness can no longer have you. A place where Darkness and Hate can no longer reside. A place where The Elites can no longer oppress. A place where The Light of The Prince of Peace illuminates day and night. To be in such a glorious place would cause Man to forget about what he has left behind.

This is what keeps me sane in the midst of modern insanity. This is what I look to as I gaze beyond the tragedy of the six o’clock news. To know that there is something beyond this life. Something far greater than we can imagine. And we are just pilgrims passing through. It would be a true blessing if The Christ stood upon the sky and called us home all at once upon the next day’s dawn. To walk upon golden streets as a family of brethren. No one left to carry on. However, if it be His will that I am called before that time, then I can only trust that He will sustain those that I have left behind. There will be nothing more that I can do as I shed this world in the light of His glory.

I used to not understand The Christian who looked into Heaven by Faith’s leading, only to say that they are ready to go home. 

I think I am beginning to understand.

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim. In the light of His glory and grace”

-Helen Lemmel