As I headed down the hill to work, my heart was full of joy and I was surprised at the Grace I’ve been given in this new era.

My first trial at this job had been extreme foot pain from standing on concrete floors.  But I found the perfect shoes in the first store I visited. Ahh, heaven on earth!

The next trial was long hours that were difficult to endure. I wondered how I would persevere then management asked if it was too much and quickly modified my schedule. Mmm, more heaven on earth!

Finally, I faced boredom during inactive periods and the anxiety from doing nothing seemed to be prickling into my skin.  Standing still was actually painful and I didn’t see a quick change in my mindset. In my past, heavy responsibility had conditioned me to multi-task under pressure continually. Therefore even when I tried to relax after work, I’d catch myself with clenched muscles throughout my body.  There was no quietness inside me but I hadn’t known this still existed until now. When I asked Father to help me, He said that my new responsibility was to learn to Rest in the quietness of Him even during work.  Amazingly that resolution played out rather quickly and easily as I began talking to Him in Spirit during those boring times. Suddenly, I began enjoying stillness.

Any one of these current trials could have led to stress which would have led to suffering and then to leaving the job. I recalled a two year period of my life when I shuddered every time I saw my old job.  It was residual stress I still carried from it and the reaction persisted because I didn’t think of it as needing to be changed. The similarity to PTSD was remarkable and I thought that was normal for a person to live this way after trauma.

But it’s not and I was learning to change whatever was causing distress that would lead to trauma.

So, as I drove toward my job on this bright, beautiful spring morning, my Spirit rejoiced, and said “I love my job”!  It was a truly an amazing surprise. Stress wasn’t happening for the first time in my life and I asked Father, “Have you begun taking pity on me because I’m older, or have I actually matured imperceptibly?”

His answer was: “I was never far away, but back then you saw me farther away.  Gradually you have brought me closer  until now you perceive us with arms pressed together.  You even perceive me hovering inside your heart.  This is where I’ve always been.”

“This  new season is about learning to be a ‘Son’ by living each day knowing you have ready access to all the solutions you could possibly need and then using them.  You must live in Paradise all the time.  After all, anywhere is Heaven in My presence.”

It occurred to me that Paradise might look different than we thought.  We might still work a job rather than lounging in a chaise on a sandy, tropical beach. But the very nature of ‘work’ would look more like enjoyment.

Recently I had a vision of talking to Executives about changing the nature of managing people through methods of Love.  In the past, work was productive when filled to overflowing with pressure and stress.  But we know stress kills in every sense.  It is a product of darkness and when it is destroyed, illness and disease will be destroyed with it.

We ‘Sons’ have learned to begin expecting healing, health and joy in our lives.  Now it’s time to envision a world minus death, and minus sadness.  Or work without stress.  Or love without heartbreak.  Or experience without sadness.

We will break out of our ‘box’ of things we think are normal.  Sadness will not be ordinary.  It will be unacceptable.  Heartbreak will not be understandable because it will be alien. Stress will not be the result of hard work and planing.  It will be unknown.

How will we recreate Paradise unless we see it, expect it, and envision Life without sadness?  Isn’t that what the Kingdom looks like when He wipes away every tear?  Isn’t that Heaven coming to Earth? Isn’t that what it feels like to be Loved and know Love, and live Love?

AMEN!  I’m enjoying this lesson.  It’s amazing!