Stranger Removed

People look strange because we treat them as a stranger, we look not into their eyes that we may see their soul; rather we look to the surface of their being that we may decide who it is we are gazing upon...a friend, a stranger, a an enemy, an ally.  Change, it takes people by surprise, rattling the essence of being, distorting reality, and confusing the moment; this clearly seeing the heart becomes a challenge often thwarted the mind in an attempt to keep reality a jumbled confusion that we may seek yet find nothing. The strangeness we encounter is not the stranger, it is not the enemy, the friend, the ally; rather the stranger we encounter is ourselves as we have forgotten how to see in light of varying situations. Step back, gaze upon a moment and see in that moment the truth, see in that moment a Father who gave His only Son that we may live, thrive, in this, our moment. Change is the course of humanity yet it need not interfere with our observation, our sight, our preparation nor our action prepared in light of faith. Who we are may not coincide with who we claim to be for manipulations from the mind, swayed by present company or political grandstanding takes from us pieces of self, pieces easily replaced by virtues of the soul. Humbly we step into the moment, we look at the present scene to see the Father standing with open arms, inviting us home. Knowing not the intentions of our neighbor, we enter into another moment prepared to act with compassion and listen without criticism. Each moment is its own, each moment carries an ability to search the heart and venture from the soul that we may clearly see purpose with each step, that we may connect with those who have moved away, that we may hear in the midst of the static noise perpetuated by the mind in an attempt to distract and confuse.  The purpose of sight is not seeing the recognizable as defined by human tongue; the purpose of sight is to define the unrecognizable in terms of the heart, via the bond of the soul, entangled in the Father and His love. That which we call strange is but an unknown longing to be discovered; those whom we call strangers seek existence with a labyrinth of confusion looking for the Father’s door of love. Slow down, stop, discover the stranger and rename them friend for our purpose is to love, our purpose is to reach beyond the limitations of humanity and invite love to lead, invite love to be our eyes, our ears, our thoughts, our actions, our purpose.  If we but take a moment with just one stranger, to look into their eyes, to see their soul, or the pieces of their soul they will allow us to see, we may make a small difference, one person may go home tonight knowing they are cherished, citing their worth as a blessing rather than shame. Change occurs daily, what we see today is not what is noticed tomorrow yet when the heart is engaged, love is consistently recognized.  We need to return to love, return to the heart, listen and act with the soul that we may fulfill our purpose to know the Father, to act upon faith, to entangle our lives in love, not just whom we call friend but with those we consider enemies as well for faith is purposed in love while arguments and criticism are purposed in pride.  Leave pride behind, act upon faith, seize the moment to love, seize the moment to act with grace and offer to the stranger the hand of the Father and His gift of love.  People look strange because we treat them as a stranger, we look not into their eyes that we may see their soul; rather we look to the surface of their being that we may decide who it is we are gazing upon...a friend, a stranger, a an enemy, an ally.  Today, take a look, look into the eyes of a stranger but for a moment, offer peace, offer love, offer God and see the difference this attitude makes. A new friend, an ally, an acquaintance, maybe still a stranger but no longer an enemy for love, even within a moment, love conquers hate and without hate enemies no longer exist. Without enemies we can slowly remove stranger from our vocabulary for the connections of the heart carry the weight of friend.