The Weeping Day

It rained off and on all day yesterday. I was busily working on my book and helping Asherel with her AP exam prep, so it didn't really matter that it was so grey and miserable outside. However, while resting my sore elbow, in between hours of typing, I did what I should not do when I can't go outside for a walk- spent time on Facebook. As a result, I saw a slew of vicious names being slung at anyone who may have voted that marriage should be defined as one man, one woman. "Hateful" and "bigots" were two of the favorite epithets. There were a few less complimentary terms, but I can't include them in a G rated blog. I am always impressed by the language the purveyors of love and tolerance choose to describe those who disagree with them.

I am not going to rehash the discussions here but it did make me think about the nature of Facebook. I do like seeing how the world around me thinks but some things on Facebook make me want to drop boiling coffee on my computer. I have one major pet peeve, besides the assumptions of hate and bigotry without any idea of why people may vote they way they vote on the marriage issue. The pet peeve involves what Facebook posters ask of their readers. The message sometimes differs in subject, but it always follows this theme: "If you love your children, share this message." "If you are my friend, press 'like' ", "If you are a decent human being, send this message on to ten people", etc. Of course, the implicit message is that when you don't follow the instructions, it is because you hate your children, are not that writer's friend, and really an abomination to mankind. I NEVER respond to those messages as my own personal campaign against subtle coercion. I feel the same way about chain letters. Don't ever send me one. It will die in my inbox, and thus angels will not extend miraculous blessings, I will not become a millionaire by 3 p.m., and I will not be sent 50 time tested recipes in exchange for my three mediocre ones.

I have finished Isaiah and moved on to Jeremiah in the Bible. This is like going from sunshine to a rainy day. Isaiah is filled with hope and promise and messianic prophecy. Jeremiah is one big droopy rain storm, filled with doom and gloom. I can't wait to get to my Bible reading when I am in Isaiah. I feel a little down and reluctant when I am wading through Jeremiah. But it takes both to make a story. We need the hope to get us through the depressing times, but without the downers, up has no meaning.

God cries out to His people, through the sad prophet Jeremiah, and begs them to reconsider their ways, to stop doing evil, to turn to good. His pleas fall again and again on deaf ears. He warns them over and over that if they choose to follow their own selfish inclinations and ignore God's laws, He will remove His hedge of protection around them. They throw Jeremiah in a pit rather than heed the warning. God threatens disaster, but continues to plead,to beg, to cajole. Even in the midst of his litany of all He will do to let His people follow their sin to their destruction, He throws out a life line.
"Find the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls."

The ancient paths? What are those? We are always seeking the new, the better, the modern, the change....We do not heed the advice of the aged, of those who have lived and struggled and overcome. The past is just one of folly. God is just a crutch, an invention, an attempt to keep progress at bay. What are those ancient paths that we should be returning to where our souls will rest? I am thinking that as a people, we are not finding them.

(For those of you reading this on Facebook, press 'like' if you agree.)

Jeremiah 4:19-22 (NIV)
Oh, my anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain. Oh, the agony of my heart! My heart pounds within me, I cannot keep silent. For I have heard the sound of the trumpet; I have heard the battle cry. [20] Disaster follows disaster; the whole land lies in ruins. In an instant my tents are destroyed, my shelter in a moment. [21] How long must I see the battle standard and hear the sound of the trumpet? [22] “My people are fools; they do not know me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good.”

Jeremiah 5:12-13 (NIV)
They have lied about the Lord; they said, “He will do nothing! No harm will come to us; we will never see sword or famine. [13] The prophets are but wind and the word is not in them; so let what they say be done to them.”

Jeremiah 6:16 (NIV)
This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

-save a dog- hollowcreekfarm.org