The Scary Grey Bearded God

People have thrown all kinds of images of God over the years. We even have cross in jewellery to symbolise a myriad of ways of how our devotion can be fashioned out. I have no problem with that. My biggest problem at the present moment is not even how we represent God and mostly on the portrayal of God being this big grey bearded man sitting on a gold arm chair ready to zap humans at any moment.

Now I have been in the church since I walked in a church with my mom, I in her belly and she accepting Jesus Christ as her lord and saviour, about eight years later I would do the same. You might say I was rather young to be doing that, committing to such at my age however he is all I had and still is this is my reality. The reason I brought my narrative through is so that you would know a bit of background. But he was never and never has been scary or draconian. He is referred to as a “jealous” God in the bible but he also says; “test me and see that I am not good” and “ask and you shall receive”. The bible (if I may use it as a referral here) also says his mercies are new every morning.

But let us take away all the things that make us assume warm and fuzzy feelings about him, or the debate that why do bad things happen to good people. If we are to look at ourselves and see that as much as our lives are hard we still have what we have and he has not zapped us or thrown balls of fire to burn us all up then surely he can’t be a nasty God? I have used scenarios and words very carefully in this post because I know who I am talking about and I have the assurance of his existence. I am saying we have gone for too long torturing ourselves with all the Sunday school stories adults created to scare us of God. His power and magnitude is something to be feared and revered but not he, his love is real and unconditional. There it is that is all of it.

Wicked Winning Woman

We never needed more women in industries in fact we never needed to be recognised by others. We needed to support each other and be happy for each other at any point in time. That saying ‘not everyone is going to be happy for you’ is commonly said in female circles and not male circles, go figure.

Having had a conversation with a friend this morning I felt compelled to write this because it is important we see where we are getting it wrong. We are getting it wrong when we are holding grudges and being jealous towards those who are doing better than us. Holding bitterness and not being strong enough to stand in the sun with a friend and say I will stand with you for your “glory” while I wait for mine. So speaking frankly in this post I would be correct in saying that we don’t do that. We don’t want to stand with another sister while she shines for how many times she shines.

I would like to say that many of the lessons we learn we learn from the female figures around us. My figure is my mother. My mother has under gone many transformations to get to her 50 something self and still she just gets on with it. But she taught me loyalty and honesty at a very young age. She stayed in a job for more than 20 years and she endured, even when others said go get better she said this is better for all the people in my life. Those people where her kids, boss, friends, church mates, family you name it. She understood that a blessing came when she knew how to bless others. So from a young age I learnt that waiting for the blessing won’t really bother me if I am supporting another. And if you get distracted enough in supporting other people you won’t have time to be jealous.

There is only one step and then we would have arrived, that is to be happy with others, before your time and after your time. Give yourself the blessing of supporting others before your turn. Not everything is about you and how you will get there. You will get there via others and you need to accept that. You can’t reach anywhere without reaching outside of yourself.

Stalker

I am so proud of South Africa lately especially when it comes to keeping up to date with new series. I am on twitter and constantly I see what folk abroad are interested in or are viewing. I was actually introduced to this series by a colleague’s friend who had come into the office. This lady and I were talking about South Africa and our different professions and interests when she said; “I suggest you watch Stalker it’s so cool it seems right up your alley”.

After watching a few jaw dropping episodes I remember immediately thinking this is happening to so many woman in South Africa. Also I remember very well saying to myself that, my little sister has to watch this, in fact I am going to force her. I am adamant that this an extremely transparent look at present day society and how much the internet and our smart and savvy phones have exposed us to even more dangerous situations.

You watch as each episode dives into the hardest scariest situation a victim could ever go through. I feel like the awareness has reached its peak internationally. We have the likes of Angelina Jolie, Emma Watson and others campaigning that more people need to support the drive of protecting our women and girls. The articles we read during awareness months turn our stomachs but illustration and visuals like the series Stalker are a constant reminder that we facing a tragic epidemic. We need to step it up and watch for tell-tell signs, which is exactly what the detectives go through in this series.

With amazing lead actors like Dylan McDermott, Maggie Q, Mariana Klaveno, Elisabeth Rohm, Victor Rasuk who play characters who work for a very busy detectives unit that investigate crimes surrounding stalking. You see the details and also the magnitude but also the effects that stalking has on people. The story line does come full circle when it points us to a serious case within the unit but I won’t spoil it for you all. All I can say is, watched it and if it’s of any interest finish the first season.