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Nothing to wait for, nothing to fear
"Today we share a very special, caring relationship."
I had just read a list of negative tendencies or trends that were associated with the coming of the millennium—feelings of disunity, cynicism, a rejection of authority, and a feeling that persecution is necessary. As I considered these items in light of my relationship with my daughter Melinda at that time, I thought how much the list described my home right then.
But since none of these conditions were from God, they had no real cause, even if they did seem very challenging at times. God alone is the one cause. All real effects proceed from this one cause. And because God is good, all real effects must be good, too. The negative attitudes I was getting from my teenager and was sometimes feeling myself were like an overdone movie, which everyone knows is only a fiction even though it seems very real while you're watching it. So they had no power to influence our relationship.
This glimpse of God's goodness being the only presence immediately gave me new hope. I could see now that no matter how long these attitudes seemed to have been affecting our family, they never had any ultimate power. They had never really defined who we were, or even touched us. Each of these negative tendencies amounted to what people were believing to be legitimate threats. They were, in this sense, beliefs. And each could be seen as an imposition on the glory and grandeur of God's perfect creation. By understanding that the opposite quality was in each case the one from God, I could find the real, spiritual fact. Here's the way it went for me:
Enjoy 1 free Sentinel article or audio program each month, including content from 1898 to today.
February 26, 2001 issue
View Issue-
A way out of despair
Cyril Rakhmanoff
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YOUR LETTERS
with contributions from Carrie Snedaker Massnick, Margaret Clark, Tamie Kanata
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items of interest
with contributions from Timothy P. Daaleman, Larry VandeCreek, Jennifer Frey, Jan Goodwin, Gail Bernice Holland
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Who do you think you are?
By Mark Swinney
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Today is your independence day
By Thomas Poyser
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A breath of fresh prayer
By Tony Lobl.
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Psalm 23 in your own words
with contributions from Daniel Crossman, Name Removed By Request, Rachel Bergquist
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Love's refuge
Terry Barham
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There was a cure after all
Betty McVey
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Free to go forward
Kathleen Hall
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Prayer works
Steven Frank, Susan Phillips Frank
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Protection comes from God
Gloria Donna Onyuru
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An answer he couldn't have planned
Robert Robison
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Nothing to wait for, nothing to fear
By Joan Ware
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Diversity in the supermarket
Mary Trammell