June 2019 Insights

By: Gabriela Yareliz

The insights of the month of June. The insights come to me in between the walks past the bakery that just opened, with its “Grand Opening” funeral flowers, getting elbowed in the face while exiting the train (almost broken glasses– nerdy much?)– only to find the permanently broken escalators of the train stations. Broken escalator means feed the Fitbit or die underground. They come to me. They come to me in weird moments. But thank God, they come.

REDEMPTION

“I believe in redemption,” my soul sister EA said. Life is filled with new opportunities, every time we take a breath. She reminded me that these opportunities are to be seized. God will often throw us a second-third-fourth-fifth chance to make something be what we always dreamed. He does this because He loves us. He does this to position us for the greatness He has prepared for us.

I was reading Elaine Welteroth’s book, More than Enough. As we grow up, sometimes we screw things up or we don’t fully see all we deserve or life screws things up for us. Sometimes, we are casualties on someone else’s battleground. But then, after the storm clears, comes a sunny day with new opportunities. My soul sister says: “Second chances are often better because they are what you deserved all along.” 

This is your wakeup call.

NATURE

So many things in life are so deeply complicated. Especially, people. We gather little pieces and facts about people, as we interact with them, and sometimes we gather info as we hear about them from people who know them well or people who were more aware of what was going on at the time. Or sometimes, we strain our brains, as we search blurry memories.

It’s incredible to see that people, who do even some of the most atrocious things, are ultimately extremely broken inside. It’s not even a shift in perspective. We all have the same nature. That isn’t a question mark. It’s not about shifting perspective but about taking the time to pause long enough to look at someone. To humanize people, even after they hurt us means we can’t just push them away. It doesn’t mean we condone behavior. What it means is we see the tragedy of people’s actions as a reflection of their brokenness. It’s an exercise I do even with people close to me. I also catch my own actions, and see through them.

I will never forget some office hours I had with my Grad Student TA/ Professor for a social justice class I took in journalism school. He now owns a bookstore in our college town that has a total of like three shelves in it, but still… very cool. You know, those books from publishers you have never heard of, with cover designs that look like those photos you would throw away after you developed a film because it turned out it was an accident shot of the corner of a table and the floor (blurry linoleum). I digress.

We went to a café (he was hip. duh. coolest office hours ever.) and I brought my composition notebook with all my little thoughts scribbled in it. I opened it, as we began our chat. We were talking about whatever current events were going on, how we met Cornel West, racism, Rihanna, and something else I can’t remember. If you don’t know me, I am a pretty straight shooter. Some would categorize me as “intense.” I don’t mess around (in an effort to cut back on my New York habit of cursing, I am using the word “mess.”) (I swear I didn’t curse until I moved here. I think once they elbow you in the face a time too many…)

I have never made excuses for people because, in many ways, my life was a you-have-to-get-it-right-the-first-time-or-it’s-over kind of thing. I couldn’t afford to make mistakes. Sometimes, that was literal. I literally had to be responsible and extra careful because there was no way I had the means to make it through, if all else failed. Life’s circumstances sometimes put us under the strangest of pressures. This often translates into my way of thinking.

If you have ever listened to someone like Gary Vaynerchuk, I am very much from his school of thought. It’s a get-up-off-your-butt, stop-making-excuses, when-you-want-something-you-go-for-it, RELENTLESS type. I am relentless. Discipline is my middle name. This came across in my conversation with my professor. And I don’t remember exactly what we were talking about, but I remember I was stating that I didn’t agree with someone’s behavior because it represented X, Y, and Z. (super intellectual, though.)  I remember he stared at me with his big brown eyes, and he put his hand over my notebook in front of me, to sort of get my attention in the pause, and he said, “You have to realize, not everyone is you. Not everyone can be strong and thrive after breaking.” 

I am not sure how I felt after that meeting. I know my cheeks burned when he said that comment. I think they burned from a sort of shame. Who knows. I know I didn’t agree. I figured everyone had the same right to rise to the occasion. People’s choices to hurt themselves and others would seriously anger me. Maybe, it angered me because I knew how much it hurt. I had been on the receiving end of brokenness and selfishness. I didn’t find it funny or light or an oops. I have always recognized the weight and gravity of our choices, as humans. Sometimes, it still angers me.

And as someone who strives to be vulnerable and open, I will tell you: it’s easy to dismiss people who don’t make the choice you think is right or the people who hurt you. It’s easier because it creates distance. It keeps you safe or so you think.

What is hard is when you ask questions to understand because understanding changes you. It changes you. Not anyone else. And by that, I don’t mean it makes us accept behavior or even toxic people. No. But it opens our eyes to see what is really there. A shattered person. People who fill voids with all the wrong things. People in identity crises seem to hurt the most people. Maybe, a person who is afraid. Maybe, a person who was abused. Maybe, a person with no sense of self-worth. Maybe, a person left behind. Maybe, a person who had zero guidance. And while people ALWAYS have a choice as to who they become and what they choose for themselves, if they choose something that hurts others or themselves, then we are left to witness it in pain. Seeing it in pain is different than seeing it in judgment. 

When we sit with that pain, that is what changes us. To see the world as it really is means you see how sin has the capability to absolutely shatter and imprison anyone who allows it. It allows us to see the invisible that makes the visible.

Sitting with pain means your walls come down, and you are no longer trying to be understood or correct or protect. Instead, it means you feel. And if you feel, it’s because of love. God is love. So if we are filled with that compassion-driven love, then we are overflowing with divinity. 

I want to feel the divine.

[To the passenger who elbowed me in the face: you didn’t shatter me, but you almost shattered my glasses.]

ENOUGH

Never give people the power to affect how you see yourself. I was telling my boyfriend this week, that if I could tell my younger self something, it would be that I know I spent so much time and energy trying to be understood by people who had made up their minds about me, and nothing I did or said would ever change that. I wish I hadn’t wasted time (or money) on those toxic social settings.

No matter how steely you are, you hang around certain types of people who are hurting and broken long enough, and you might absorb a little of the criticism and biting hatred they try to spread. (A cranky boss or weird acquaintance who is always in your path). But then, we do a sanity check. We have to gather our things, stand up straight. Identity is rooted in the Everlasting One who does not fail. And that means, everyone else’s opinions don’t matter.

Trying to be understood can be exhausting. Understanding you aren’t for everyone, and the ones who love you, love you for it– that is liberating. 

Be free.

A Short Prayer

God, come meet me in my anger, in my brokenness, in my abandonment, in my pain, in my defensiveness, in my heavy burdens, with my empty hands, and don’t leave me there.

Make my life the evidence of all you can do, to make all things new. Don’t let me dismiss all of the brokenness, which is the material You use to show Your glory.

Obstacle Brain Dump

I am currently reading The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph, by Ryan Holiday. I am a fan of his thoughts and analysis on Stoicism. I get his daily emails, and oftentimes, there is one that is perfect for what I am dealing with that day, or sometimes, it takes my thoughts back to something I experienced. It makes me reflect on how I can improve my reaction or behavior the next time I am faced by something or someone similar, or more important still, how I can be the person that I want to be.

When I started the book, one of the initial reflections is about perception. It tells us that Marcus Aurelius “truly saw each and every one of these obstacles as an opportunity to practice some virtue: patience, courage, humility, resourcefulness, reason, justice, and creativity.”

It tells the story of a boxer who was erroneously charged and imprisoned for a triple homicide. This man was exonerated, and later took no money or damages because he felt that if he accepted damages, it acknowledged that the city had taken something from him, and according to him, it hadn’t. “He had made his choice: This can’t harm me– I might not have wanted it to happen, but I decide how it will affect me. No one has that right.”

Holiday explains that, “They can throw us in jail, label us, deprive us of our possessions, but they’ll never control our thoughts, our beliefs, our reactions.” This passage reminded me of Mandela’s Conversations with Myself, and the strength he had, even in prison. Make no mistake– while Mandela was in chains, he was free.

This book has been a reminder of how important perception really is. I think I was much better at this in high school. Maybe that was my peak? Kidding. I was just a girl in corduroy pants, sitting in the sunshine with my mini green Bible, monkette in training. I feel that back then, I was more in peace and in tune with myself and my reactions. Or maybe that’s a delusional retrospect. I had my frazzled moments, as many as a teenage girl who entered emotional adulthood a couple years too early is allowed to have– but still. And it wasn’t like I was carefree, so that isn’t the difference.

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Elle Macpherson, working it for her company, Welleco.

I have lived in NYC, now, 7 years. Here I am. JD in-hand and with a soul that wants to be as healthy now as Elle Macpherson is at 55 (serious middle-age goals). My profession, learning on-the-go (and sometimes with people and events that want to sabotage your very soul) and changes, plus the natural consequences and difficulties that arise from dealing with people– well, it has left me in a frazzled state, before. That doesn’t include the factors of living in such a chaotic, dirty, dysfunctional city that drains your finances. (All right, that wasn’t the most positive description. KEEPING. IT.REAL.)

I think of this and compare it to the past. I often look back at some bleak times in my personal history, and how even in the midst of those, I found a lot of genuine joy. I have fond memories. I don’t think my life was traumatizing, though there were certainly things I could have done with or without– things that have affected me (I am a work in progress– or as Bob Goff says, “We are all rough drafts of the people we are becoming”). But I had peace back then. And even in the midst of chaos here, I often find peace. (A train is delayed = extra reading time; broken escalator = more steps for my Fitbit; someone dumps coffee on me = I don’t care about my pants or material goods as much– how is that for positivity? All of this happened in the last two days.)

My point is that I need to work on perception. It’s ridiculous how many of us (including myself) choose despair, passivity, negativity, lack of resilience and defeat–. This is a reminder to each one of us to not get sucked in. I feel I get very sucked in, especially when it’s that PMS time.

I just finished Everyday Chic, by Molly Sims, and there is a section that reminds us how language frames so much of our world. She reminds us that rather than saying things like, “I have to go to the gym,” we can say, “I get to go to the gym.” “You have to go to school,” can be turned into, “You get to go to school!”

This is especially important when we speak to our children. Anyway. Reading all of this was such a reminder. (Yup, from Ryan Holiday to Nelson Mandela to Molly Sims). Frazzling events are never lacking. It seems life is always happening, but we aren’t powerless. There are things no one or nothing can take from us, unless we surrender them.

MCDWEDA EC001This reminds me of a line from The Wedding Date, with Debra Messing and the handsome Durmot Mulroney. “Every woman has the exact love life she wants.” Meaning, we end up with what we choose. This applies to so much in life. We are constantly making choices, including who we give power to, to make their own choices that will affect our lives. We have choices even within our circumstances that are out of our control.

So, may we always choose to react in the way that brings us the most peace, integrity and honor. May we guard the sacred in our lives, which belongs to us and only us. And may we be bold and courageous, as we forge our path out of the obstacles this world plants along our way. May we be insulated by the glow of growth that comes from accepting a challenge and by the hope that the present and tomorrow should bring.

xx

GY

Birthday Month Reflection: Lessons Learned

By: Gabriela Yareliz

I was inspired by Lauryn Evarts Bosstick’s Birthday Reflection post, where she shared three things she learned in the past year. As a fellow May baby, I thought I would reflect on this year.

Here is my list:

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Image from HGTV

Exposure

I have been super intentional about exposing myself to material and things I don’t know much about. Even when it’s embarrassing how clueless I am. Recognizing my weaknesses and stepping out of my interests has been a journey. I have read more economics and business books in the past year than I have ever read in my entire life. I am learning about finance, investments, and design.

There are things that don’t come naturally to me, like decorating or styling things, but by exposing myself to a bunch of material and inspiration, I have started learning more about what makes certain things work or come together. Whether it has been watching old episodes of Fixer Upper, listening to Rachel Zoe or following the articles at My Domaine— I know I have learned so much from the expertise of others who do things well.

boundaries_fron_prooft

Boundaries

This was such a big word for me this past year. As we grow and life changes, our relationships change. I think we can all perpetuate dynamics and cycles if we aren’t intentional in the way we live and communicate with those around us. (I posted a lot about this, this past year).

Self-awareness and vulnerability are so key to having the relationships and lives that we want.

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Image from Candice Kumai

Tea

This was a year where I used tea medicinally. I am obsessed with the turmeric ginger tea that Pukka makes. Again, intentionality made the difference here.

I wrote my heart out

I wrote a first draft of a book I am working on, last year, and now I am in the process of editing. It is a project I am so passionate about because the meaning behind this story means so much to me. Just writing it alone has been a sort of therapy. Even if it stays in my hands, the act of writing it changed something in me.

Health came first

So… I need to keep cutting sugar out of my diet, but apart from that, this was a year where good health became my normal, thank GOD. I had spent a long time with a lot of anxiety regarding my health and a lot of question marks because I wasn’t sure whether something would work for me. God helped me find the resources I needed, and I saw the results of those efforts yield stable results, this year. As a result of this, I am majorly Goopy (minus the crystals and random jade eggs). (See Goop)

Cultivated community

I have absolutely loved seeing Modern Witnesses grow into a flourishing community of vulnerable and organic women, who are doing big things for God and their communities. I can’t wait to watch it keep growing and expanding.

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Realistically analyzed age

There is a scene in The Mindy Project where Mindy’s boyfriend at that point in time, Casey, tells her that he is going to Haiti for a year.

He tells her, “A year is not that long.”
Mindy responds with: “Yeah, if I was 20 or a tortoise.” […] “I don’t have a year of my life to put on pause.”

(Yes, this is the episode where Mindy takes down a stripper pole from a frat party and calls it a “poll of oppression”. “Thank you, young feminist.”)

I think this year, my age bracket really settled in. It was a time when I too realized I was not 20 anymore. There comes a time in every (self-respecting) woman’s life when she has to set herself up on the trajectory she wants her life to take. If A+B=C, then if you want C, you sure as hell better have A and B put into place. This can be in regards to career, marriage, children, etc. (applicable throughout).

I think we do women (and men) a disservice by thinking it’s controlling or desperate to talk about certain realities or to want certain things, or like Mindy, to make decisions based on these same things. And these things are not other people’s opinions or arbitrary societal timelines, they are our own desires or plans God has for our purpose and life.

Truly, I think that looking at reality, being aware and taking bold steps that take us in the direction we want to go are some of the most important things we can do for ourselves. While there are so many factors we can’t control in life, there are factors and decisions we can control. People seem to sort of wander through life and do things simply because it seems like a natural/reluctant next step, but that can turn into a passive life filled with missed opportunities.

I have seen a lot of empowered women this year. Women who left jobs, took jobs, broke up with boyfriends, left everything to do mission, got off birth control to try to have children, etc. They went after their purpose without fear, and respected themselves enough to leave behind whatever wasn’t joining or supporting them. Even if it was scary. My admiration goes out to these women.

This year, I too, like Mindy, have reflected a lot on where I want to be soon. And like Mindy, I acknowledge that I am not 20 anymore, and I don’t have years of my life to put on pause.

I bought furniture, started aggressively saving and doing research… It’s a mind-blowing thing when you realize, whoa, you aren’t 20 anymore. #adulting

Read a TON

The MTA (NYC public transport) is a freaking Odyssey. Always have a book on you. My boyfriend got me a Kindle for our last anniversary, and I have read so many books on it. He also has this gift of seeing a cover and picking the best books from random people we have never heard of, so I borrow a lot. I would say 90% of what I read was edifying and incredible. Reading is knowledge. I love my mornings where I read, and then stare out of the train window, while I quietly process things in my head. Never a minute wasted.

Conclusion

Ok. I need to pick up my clothes from the drier and keep cleaning. This was a short mental break.

This was my short list of things I learned and changed in, in the past year. I am excited for more growth in this new year. I am so blessed and grateful. God is so good. I know His plan for my life continues to unfold, day-by-day. Of this I am sure. His plan is unfolding for your life, too. Drop me a line, and let me know what lessons you have learned in your past year.

-GY

The Abolition of Man

Thoughts by: Gabriela Yareliz, based on The Abolition of Man (all quotes are from the book, unless otherwise specified).

There was a hypothetical presented at a meeting. The hypo: A person commits a crime and is arrested. What are possible solutions to this, was essentially the question posed to the group. The serious suggestions offered were: to legalize the crime and to abolish police. To my total shock, these absurd suggestions came from a group of attorneys.

There is a growing number of people in present society that believes that boundaries and punishment for violations of such boundaries should be eliminated, thus eliminating all personal responsibility from the individual who made a choice.

Rather than holding any individual personally responsible for his or her choices, people see eliminating systems that delineate right and wrong as a solution.

People (I generalize, but I speak of a growing societal trend) prefer to eliminate the police than to criminalize a behavior that can be a danger to health (including public health), life and safety. I have noticed, however, they are all for eliminating things, until something hurts them or they are suddenly affected. And suddenly, then the boundary or punishment becomes needed.

Much of this attitude stems from this idea that man/woman has natural impulses and instincts, and a growing belief that he/she should be allowed to follow these, no matter the result, so that he or she can be considered “fulfilled,” “free” and “authentic.”

Our society has lost sight of the structures and boundaries needed for true freedom, safety and fulfillment. Worst of all, society is advocating for a no-value system apart from the anarchy it wants to accept. It promotes tolerance and acceptance, yet it imposes beliefs and a lack of values that you either get on board with or you are labeled and kept outside— outside of favor, outside of career advancement, outside of friendships.

C.S. Lewis wrote a book, The Abolition of Man, with some important points I wanted to share. This book is a series of lectures, where he discusses a British textbook that, at the time, wanted to render values as subjective and essentially “unreal.”

In its first part, Lewis establishes the paradox of what we create and allow and then our disgust with what we harvest from our ideas and attitudes: “We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst.”

We have a society that criticizes those who have held onto values and standards that diverge from its own. People are labeled as “bigoted” and “close minded,” yet this growing number in society fails to see the irrational and illogical way they see the world.

“Their skepticism about values is on the surface: it is for use on other people’s values; about the values current in their own set they are not nearly skeptical enough,” Lewis explains.

Society hides behind this idea of obeying and giving way to what comes natural to us. “Telling us to obey instinct is like telling us to obey ‘people.’ People say different things: so do instincts. Our instincts are at war. […] Each instinct, if you listen to it, will claim to be gratified at the expense of all the rest,” Lewis wrote.

Lewis makes an excellent point by comparing following instinct to a judge hearing a case. A judge sees evidence, thinks of consequences and uses knowledge to make a determination. To think of a judge deciding a case based on “instinct” would be absurd and reprehensible. It would also lead to a lot of inaccurate decisions and judgments with heavy implications.

What we are seeing, more and more, is this irrational “open mind” mentality to actual practical reason. “An open mind, in questions that are not ultimate, is useful. But an open mind about the ultimate foundations either Theoretical or of Practical Reason is idiocy.”

Lewis continues, stating, “I am simply arguing that if we are to have values at all we must accept the ultimate platitudes of Practical Reason as having absolute validity: that any attempt, having become skeptical about these, to reintroduce values lower down on some supposedly more ‘realistic’ basis, is doomed.”

Humanity has submerged itself deeper and deeper into this state of no longer being makers of conscience “but still its subjects”; it does not conquer nature, but instead, becomes a slave to the very lowest of natures.

The Abolition of Man description on Wikipedia sums it up best. The last chapter shows “a distant future in which the values and morals of the majority are controlled by a small group who rule by a perfect understanding of psychology, and who in turn, being able to see through any system of morality that might induce them to act in a certain way, are ruled only by their own unreflected whims. In surrendering rational reflection on their own motivations, the controllers will no longer be recognizably human, the controlled will be robot-like, and the Abolition of Man will have been completed.” (Wikipedia)

This view is reflected in Lewis’ thought that, “A dogmatic belief in objective value is necessary to the very idea of a rule which is not tyranny or an obedience which is not slavery.”

What makes this book’s message so relevant and important is our current condition. It is a book that rests on reason, rational thought and a value system referred to as Tao, that is separate from theism, meaning a secular mind can understand it and agree with it.

Today’s “open mind” claims to see through things. It sees through values and morality. Yet, to never accept something as a solid truth or value and to continually be able to see through things renders things as transparent. Lewis’ final point is, “To ‘see through’ all things is the same as not to see.”

This point calls us into deep reflection. Are we selectively ‘seeing through’ certain things and blinding ourselves or can we truly see?

Reaching Impressionable Minds With Hope

By: Gabriela Yareliz

How do we help children who have suffered the trauma of a broken home to have a vision for a better future?

This was something I was meditating on. Maybe you have thought about this if you come from a broken home or if you are parenting, co-parenting or step-parenting a child who has seen a broken home.

Can we inspire young people to something beyond what they have witnessed? And sadly, many of these children just keep seeing unhappy unions and unhappy homes all around them (life, media, etc.).

I was reflecting on this. How do we equip children? These were some of my thoughts:

1. First, we do ourselves a disservice when we act like we are responsible for our children’s future choices. That’s not the case, at all. Life happens. Circumstances happen. We can’t control whether the person our child marries turns out to be a rotten apple (or as we say in NYC, “an a**hole”) or whether our child will choose what is in their best interest. That was never our responsibility to begin with. That is never in our control. They aren’t robots, and kids from great, two-parent homes end up making some weird choices. Having a broken home isn’t the determining factor. (Of course, it can be a factor. That is why we are here. Life is full of factors.)

2. What can we do?

a. We can have conversations with them, to let them know when we (or others) haven’t made the best choices or to let them know that life can be different for them, despite anything they have seen. It’s good to establish a standard of what is ideal. Something to strive for.

b. We can be an example and show them the difference. We can start fresh and show them a life that reflects healthy relationships, personal growth, humility, and staying power (commitment).

3. And lastly, it may seem like conversations about theoretical scenarios and hypotheticals are useless in a generation whose attention is fleeting and hard to capture. And maybe, morale is low or we don’t yet have the ability to show a child in our life something different. Or maybe, the person who needs convincing is us, the adult.

How do we really reach a young impressionable mind with hope for the future and an opportunity to do things differently? My thoughts led me back to myself. I come from a single-parent home. My father and I were estranged for pretty much a decade. So, what I saw wasn’t an ideal. Interestingly, I still grew up with this sense of: I can have a good life, and I can get married forever and have a family. “My story doesn’t end here.” I can heal and grow and help others find healing. (It’s so important for us to use our experiences to help others— even if, at times, it can be a bit triggering— we are human). And while life is unpredictable and there are no guarantees, I am talking about hope and vision.

What gave me the hope I have was not so much what I saw around me in my reality in the humans in my life, but what I saw around me in the reality of the God in my life.

The answer is that the only prayer we can have to know something better is possible is through God.

You can’t control how your child will behave in the world or whether they will repeat your mistakes or act out on their worst traits or whatever— they are their own person. What you can do is make sure you are connecting them in a real and profound way to the source of all good things and transformation— GOD.

God was what made the difference in my life. So, while I saw things that weren’t encouraging, if we keep our sights and hearts connected to the source of life, we are filled with hope and the knowledge that we aren’t predestined to do certain things, or be a certain person, but that we can have the life we want. More importantly, we can have the life God wants for us.

4. God is the ultimate healer, Father, guide and lover of our soul. He fights for us. When you give a child the tools to connect with the ultimate source of ALL things, you give a child access to unlimited power and resources.

It’s true that children emulate and gather their vision from what they see around them, and that is why it’s so important to make sure they see God. It will always be that child’s choice to seek God in a grown capacity, but our responsibility is great when they are young. Again, we are talking about what we can control and what can make the difference. What made the difference in my life was that I was taught to seek God, earnestly. He was a source of solace, strength and power. I kept seeking Him, and He redefined my vision of what was possible for me (and continues to do so), no matter what I saw, elsewhere. This stands true, today. The point is I am not perfect, but I know who is. I know He wants good things for me, and I know what traits are marks of holiness and true love because I have been overwhelmed with His love in my heart. God is faithful, and He reaches us where we are.

This is the greatest gift you can give any person, and a game changer for those who have felt the darkness enclose around them. God is the key. He is the difference between a life of emulating and a life of creating. He created us to create, and He showed us first hand what it means to have love drive out all fear.

May He help us to have a godly vision of what life can be in Him, and may He help us raise children with the tools to seek Him and live out their best life possible.

It’s never our responsibility to have others make good choices. It’s our responsibility to simply teach them about the One who can empower them to do so. We are responsible for ourselves, and that is a separate topic, all on its own.

xoxo for now

“God is the key. He is the difference between a life of emulating and a life of creating. He created us to create”

Liberation

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Sometimes, life feels like some weird social experiment. Have you noticed? People seem to get less caring and crazier, by the minute. And by crazy, I don’t mean funny-cute-wild, but reckless-not appreciating-consequences-and-mental-health-issue crazy. Life on this sinful planet can make us a bit crazy.

Life’s pain and unpredictability can leave us like a nauseated person on a boat: Unable to lift our heads and paralyzed.

This reminds me of this month’s holidays. During the Passover, Israel was quite literally enslaved, and there didn’t seem to be a way out. During Easter, people were enslaved by their expectations and another foreign power’s yoke.

But you see, if we are going to celebrate Passover and Easter, we don’t so much celebrate some ancient story, but instead, we celebrate what the story means for us, today.

Do you celebrate Passover?

Remember:

We may be slaves, but we serve a mighty God who has heard our cry.

The promise has been made: Liberation is coming.

The blood of the Lamb is on the doorway.

You and those in your home will be saved by your faith and intercession.

Step into the Red Sea, to see it part.

You will reach the other side.

You will be victorious.

You will sing your song.

You are chosen.

You are being led by the cloud by day and fire, by night.

He will take you to the fulfillment of His promise because He is faithful.

Do you celebrate Easter?

Remember:

The Lamb came. Love risked it all.

The cross is before us.

The price has been paid by His blood. God gave Himself to redeem His own creation.

The stone of the tomb is gone.

The men who walked with Him were forever changed.

Those men changed the world, by their witness.

They saw him.

He is ALIVE.

He has conquered everything, including death.

He is sitting on the throne.

He has made a promise.

He offers us the free gift of redemption.

The Lamb is here.

God with us– leaving the Holy Spirit, God in us.

Whatever you are thinking about or celebrating, know victory is HERE. This season is all about hope. Not empty hope, but hope that literally infuses us with life. Hope that changes our lives. Hope that takes us to victory. Hope that points to the Lamb of God. Hope that frees us.

This season, know that He lives. If you feel abandoned. If you feel far from your purpose or your promise, call on Him. He hasn’t forgotten you. Liberation is promised. Liberation is now. Liberation is inevitable because He is alive forevermore. He reigns.

HE IS THE BEGINNING AND THE END.

HE IS THE ALMIGHTY GOD WHO HOLDS YOU. No one stops this God from coming through. He loves us in our weakness.

He was. He is. He will be.

Today, He reminds you of the freedom He offers. It’s the only freedom that is real.