Devastated But Not Destroyed

Hi Friends.  It has been eons since I wrote a blog post.  The reasons are many.  There have been multiple family situations that I’ve needed to attend to, some of them will be ongoing into the future and will require my attention increasingly so.  I have lacked the energy, battle with depression from time to time – there have been some hard struggles in my life, and let’s face it, the work that we do is inherently depressive and we need to find ways to manage compassion fatigue and the trauma that comes with being an animal welfare advocate.  Many times, I’ve wanted to give up.  But God keeps the vision alive in me.  Also, I have simply felt like there wasn’t much to say at times.  Or, I had given my all during my work day; with a family member; or I have said a lot of what needs to be said in prior blog posts – what do I say now? 

Of course there is still a lot to say.  Animals are still in extreme bondage and need our help to release them from it, in as much as we are able, for so much of what goes on will require an act from the Father Himself.  This also needs to be discussed, there is yet a lot of work to do reaching the followers of Jesus in hopes that the Spirit will be able to bring about a change of heart, a renewing of their minds, and a reaching of their souls.  There is still much to be done to bridge the gap between those in the world who already are on the front lines but do not know in who’s name they labour!

I have also thought that I need to reinvent my mode of writing.  In the past I wrote longer theologically based articles.  There is a place for these for sure.  However, for me, I have been feeling more and more that to reach the audiences needing reaching, perhaps more first person essays, short stories, news flashes geared to educate – things like this – might be a good place to start this reinvention.

I have often done this kind of writing on the Shepherding All God’s Creatures Facebook page attached to a post of interest.  Where now, I believe I shall start posting these things here and sharing them to the Facebook page.  I may post more often, but they will be shorter.

And so I shall begin now with this short word of encouragement.  It is from a blog/website whom my girlfriend, bless her heart, has been forwarding the meditations to my inbox.  Some really stick, and I see how they can particularly apply to us animal welfarists!  We need especially to keep our minds on the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  It is all too easy to lose hope, dip into a state of depression – the list goes on.

Here is a quote from this writer on the website, Proverbs 31 Ministries:

The news I’d received from just an hour earlier crushed me. And devastated me.

A friend I love made a decision I couldn’t for the life of me understand. It wasn’t in keeping with her character. It wasn’t something I ever dreamed this person could do. The effects of this decision would careen across her life and mine with hard consequences.

[Break in the quote:  At this juncture we could replace the situation at hand with any number of our own – personal with family/friends, or something we are dealing with in regards to animal welfare…..]

Glancing at the table across from me, I saw two women a little younger than I am. They were laughing and cutting up food into bite-size pieces for their young kids. I could hear them talking about costumes that needed to be made for their upcoming preschool performance. One of them was having a hard time finding purple tights, and she desperately needed purple tights to make the costume complete.

I whispered under my breath, “I wish my biggest issue was purple tights.” Although my whispered statement was lost in the chaotic chorus of food court voices and noises, the scream inside my heart hovered over me in deafening tones.

My mind raced. My throat tightened. My eyes leaked uncontrollably.

I tried to pray, but honestly, I felt like God was pretty distant at that moment.

It’s hard to stand on the goodness of God when you feel like life has just been stripped of so much good.

It’s in these moments where we know if the Word of God has seeped deep into our hearts or not. Though the world seemed to swirl and spin without anything for me to hold onto, one simple statement rose to the top of my mind and cut through with crystal clarity: …[Read more at Proverbs 31 Ministries]

Thank you for reading and following our blog!  We are glad to have you, and hope you are blessed by our work. ~Kathy