"He who wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper." What a wonderful quote from Mr. Burke. Me thinks Mr. Burke read his Bible... either that or he was married to my ex husband... HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!I am so very lucky for all the lessons I learned at a very young age. Those lessons were, in fact, the prelude that would make the stories of the Bible JUMP out at me. I was blessed with bad decisions and bad behavior right from the beginning which lead to a tough run too young.... and too soon after being baptized a Christian. But, I was in effect wrestling... a picture that became crystal clear years later reading Genesis 32:24-28. This is the scripture that came to mind when I read Mr. Burke's quote earlier today.
Genesis 32:24-28 - "And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, Let me go, for the day has broken." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." And he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." Then he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed."
Ok, so this scripture ROCKS!!! First off, what's up God?!? You're not winning in your human form so you used some supernatural mojo to cheat?!? HAHAHAHAHA! Ok! And secondly, God totally had to go but Jacob held on. Even after his hip was put out of joint and he wrestled with God ALL NIGHT, he held on... and PREVAILED. Can you imagine being the guy that gets jumped by another guy and in the middle of the fight the dude touches you (probably on the shoulder or something) and your hip goes out of joint? And you're like, "This dude who jacked me is God! And I was kickin his butt so he had to do something Godly like throw my hip out! I SO rock!" But then you're like, "Crap, THIS IS GOD.... and my hip hurts, so now I'm just gonna hold on till he says I win!" That happens all the time on UFC! HAHAHAHAHAHA! What I'm trying to say is, sometimes you CAN win just by holding on. There have been many times in my life that I did NOT hold on, but then there have been other times when (out of desperation... and the want of the blessing if you will) I did. Interestingly enough, EVERY time I've held on, I got the blessing. You all probably already know what happened when I didn't hold on. **** Special note: Be true to yourself. Don't confuse letting go with changing course/direction. Sometimes you are forced to change direction. So change your course and HOLD ON!
I wonder if Edmund Burke had the same picture in his head of the match between God and Jacob? He SO got it right! Who's your antagonist? Is it God???
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