It would not be uncommon for the elevator to take up to ten minutes to arrive at your floor.
So we opted to take the back stairs;
You know, the ones that the employees use?
I failed to take photos; and here’s why –
I was so freaked out because we didn’t know which floor to get off on because…..
All the signs were in Hebrew!
חדר מדרגות
(Stairway in Hebrew)
The stairs looked somewhat like these.
(This photo of InterContinental Chicago Magnificent Mile is courtesy of TripAdvisor )
It was like one of those nightmares you have, where you go up some stairs, realize they are the wrong ones, and when you turn around the way you came, it’s all wrong!
I’m not afraid of much, but I was certainly in a panic when I realized it was a real deal, and I wasn’t going to wake up!
For a moment it was a tad like being in one of those drawings by M.C. Escher. https://mcescher.com/ Crazy with no way out!
The panic did subside when I remembered it was a hallway in a chain hotel, and that we would soon find our way out to where the people were.
I really just wanted to share with you a moment, or ten, where what was real, and what was nightmarish, briefly came together.
But we’re safe now, and I hope you’ll join me again on Friday for more Friday Favorites.
I’ve
been reading, watching and hearing a lot lately about people who LOOK OK, but
in reality, they are really undone on the inside.
In
the age we live in, if you have a sickness or condition that can be SEEN; say
poison ivy, a broken arm, or even the need for glasses or a hearing aid, there
is all the sympathy in the world.
If you have a sickness or condition that is hidden from the eyes of others; say depression, chronic fatigue, traumatic brain injury, or some other form of mental issue, people my judge you in a way in which to say “Suck it up!’, or “Just get over it!”.
If you are mostly quiet, there MUST be something wrong.
If you are loud and boisterous, you must be OK.
Neither is correct.
The
hidden condition is the one I speak of today.
This post will be brief, and hopefully helpful.
Volumes
can and have been written on the topic, but not by me.
This
is what is on my heart today.
Many of us have become very accustomed to covering our inner turmoil up, by ignoring it or otherwise somehow making ourselves look all kinds of normal to the general public.
“In short bursts, one can create the illusion of virtually anything.”
Mike Rowe on being well adjusted
Some do choose to ignore it completely.
They seem to have bought the lie that those
things will never be better for them, that healing is just a pipe dream and
that it would be better to suffer alone and silently until their days are done.
Still others, myself included, seem to be able to keep plodding through the malaise, and eventually come up with an answer.
I call this my “Junk yard dog” philosophy.
Tenacious until I get what I need.
My personal decision was that what God told me in His word was either true, or it was a lie.
God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? Numbers 23:19 (ESV)
I chose to believe that He always tells the truth, and wants what is best for me.
His word never does say that I won’t be sick – the kind of sick people can see, or the kind of sick they cannot see.
No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper Isaiah 54:17a (ASV)
(He did not say that weapons would not be formed, He said they would not prosper.)
What He did say was that He would always be by my side.
… for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5c (ESV)
He never even said that everyone would understand!
Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. Proverbs 19:21 (ESV)
A friend of mine used these words to describe his journey;
“I just kept playing Bible roulette. (Every day) Little bits and pieces. (Of the Word) Enough to keep me going until I could breathe again.”
Terry Simester
The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. Job 33:4 (ESV)
Can you resonate with these ideas?
Are you tired of holding on to the illusion you’ve created?
Have you become exhausted of it yet?
Do you just want to breathe again?
Will you let your “Junk yard dog” take over until you get what you need?
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9 (ESV)
I hope you’ll avail yourself of the Bible verses mentioned in this post, and that you find them helpful to you in getting you along farther on your journey.
Significant Encounters 
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