We’ve all heard the story or seen the video of the shooter at a church in White Settlement, Texas, and the parishioners who took him down. I watched and read and I understand the sentiments and emotions. I have family in Texas who’s close to my heart.

Then I pondered my own personal defense. Would I have shot back? Probably, if I was carrying. Then why didn’t I go through training for a Concealed Weapon Permit years ago? After all, there’s a strong law enforcement presence in my family and they support it.

Some small, nagging hesitation had blocked me. And I never defined what it was. It wasn’t an anti-gun posture. Nothing political.

But this morning, I heard my inner voice say, “I simply don’t need that.” And instantly I understood my hesitation.

the dilemma

My dilemma was a personal value choice. First was what Jesus said about turning the other cheek. The second was to carry a gun and defend myself and family. I couldn’t choose between them.

Now I saw something between those choices. And “It” was something that happens in these verses.

28 And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,
29 And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.
30 But he passing through the midst of them went his way,
(Luke 4:28-30)

“It” happened between verses 29 and 30. And “it” was why Jesus was never a victim. He didn’t die on the cross until he chose to do so and until that time, which was of his own choosing, no one could harm him or anyone with him.

What was that thing that happened between verses 29 and 30?

what is “it”?

We have a slew of names for “it” in religious and mystic circles. But regardless of our spiritual affiliations, I believe “it” is inherent in every human being. And it isn’t something we acquire.

I believe this because when we talk about this kind of experience, almost everyone recognizes “it”. Somewhere in every life, something happens that we can’t explain. “It” doesn’t fit into any logical or scientific understanding. So, we carry this unexplainable “it” that we can’t control or understand outside of religious or spiritual affiliations.

Therefore, I’m not going to name “it” in this article, except to express that it seems a lot like God’s description of himself as “I AM”. Simply there.

stories

I’ve experienced “it” many times and the stories are always wildly fun to tell. I love hearing others tell their stories too. But aside from the telling and hearing, are the actual happenings. And the more of them that came, the more I learned about the nature of “it”.

I’ve learned that “it” is with me all the time and “it” has the power to change anything that directly affects me. I’ve also learned that I can work with “it” simply by accepting “it”s existence and expecting “it”s input in my life.

Likewise, when I ignore “it” then “it” mostly sits on a shelf doing very little except jumping in when circumstances are extremely dire.

I also learned that I can only work with it when the circumstances affect me directly, like family, friends, co-workers, and situations that touch my heart with extreme compassion.

Working with “it” is a little bit like prayer or meditation when I ask for things like Peace, or Joy, or Comfort to come into severely stressful situations. But different because I have come to know “it” over a period of time and experimentation. I can feel “it” hovering inside my gut and chest, listening, nudging, and even whispering sweet nothings because “it” loves me more than anyone.

“It” has become more than my best friend because “it”s always with me and always answers. “It” never ignores me. And “it” ALWAYS protects me and mine.

All of this has been going on for such a long time in my life, that my inner voice can say, “I simply don’t need that” when it comes to guns or protection.

protection

For instance, through the several years that my daughter worked in management for a major grocery store, she never had to encounter a robbery at gunpoint. Each time it happened, she wasn’t at work. Either because she wasn’t scheduled that day, or someone had switched days with her last minute, or because she had been called away from the store minutes before. It became so obvious that her co-workers joked she must be connected to every robber.

Things like this happen to me and mine all the time and have for years.

what’s my conclusion?

Am I saying that those people in the White Settlement church don’t know about “it”? Otherwise, that gunman wouldn’t have come into their church.

I honestly don’t know anything about them or their church. I don’t know how they handle “it” or view “it” when “it” happens in their lives. I’m pretty sure “it” has done so. And maybe they relegate “it” to a category of ‘never understanding’, which a lot of people do. I’ve noticed that a lot of Christians explain “it” with the phrase “There are things we just won’t know or understand until we get to heaven.” And then they leave “it” at that. That’s their choice to do so.

I liked taking mental notes about “it” and comparing one experience to another. I even liked experimenting with “it” and studying “it”. And whether that has made a difference in my life, I don’t know for sure. All I know is what has happened. How “it” works for me. I honestly don’t think I’m more attuned or divine than anyone else.

Because my description of “it” sounds like God, doesn’t mean “it” is the God anyone else is familiar with. I’ve discovered that the word “God” covers an immensely wide variety of characters in people’s hearts and minds. And many of those characters don’t even remotely resemble the “it” I’ve come to know. That’s why I haven’t given “it” a name in this article. And if “it” is God, then I don’t think he cares what I call him very much, especially since he called himself “I AM”.

this is why

This is why I never got a carry permit or care too much about having a gun one way or the other. It’s why my spirit said, “I simply don’t need that”.

It feels like I carry a weapon greater than any gun or any other disaster. Except I don’t see “it” as a weapon. It’s more like The Force in Star Wars. And I find that very amusing and ironic. We create fairy tales and movies to explain the one thing we don’t understand but know exists.

“It” isn’t exclusive to Christianity. Or any other religion or spiritual affiliation. Rather, I’m convinced “it” is inherently inside every human being. “It” is the ingredient that made us created in God’s image. I AM.

And when I learned personally to work in conjunction with “it”, I began to experience the Garden once again living on Earth.

Selah

Faith