A is for the Armor of God - Gloria Guest

 

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of]the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.  Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." (Ephesians 6: 12-18 NKJV)

I've had those verses taped to my bedroom mirror for a couple of years now, although admit to only glancing at them a few times. Lately though, God has nudged me to look at them closer, and so I've meditated on it more. 

I was going to  title this blog, A is for Attack, and then another nudge suggested to me that perhaps I should instead write about the best way to deal with an attack...which is by putting on the Whole Armor of God. And so I share the following verses of the same passage.

"Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,  and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints." *

Although those verses are talking about our daily lives as a Christian, they also so aptly apply to our written words. How am I supposed to write authentically, vulnerably, truthfully and courageously if I go into it unprepared? I won't. My writing will either fall flat as to what God had intended for it, failing to reach hearts, or perhaps I will be unprepared for an all-out attack, and give up altogether.

That is what actually happened to me late last fall. It came out of the blue, and the words used to attack my writing, hit like bullets. I can handle critique. I can do something with critique, even if I disagree with it. But these words were jeering and character bashing and to make it worse, they came from people I had trusted, people in my close circle. For a writer to publish their words, it takes strength and vulnerability. I don't often publish. Honestly, I rarely publish. And so this attack came as a crushing blow. I phoned a few friends/family members and cried and said something like, "I'm never publishing anything again." They of course encouraged me not to give up, but at the time I could see no other option. Even this blog is a leap of faith as I skipped over two of them since this event took place. But here it is. Another nudge from God.

 I look at the armor I am to wear and am encouraged and challenged all at once. So much to put on! Yet, if I do....then that means I'll be protected by the very One who calls me to write. This doesn't mean an attack won't come. It just means, I'll be prepared and can fight off the plans of the wicked one who desires that I don't publish anything, to try to reach others.

This is the armor I am to wear daily and every time I attempt to write anything:

-WAIST GIRDED WITH TRUTH - Where have I been listening to lies, rather than the truth about my writing? Where have I maybe spoken lies (about anything at all) in my writing? Am I careful when wielding my words?

-BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS- Righteousness only comes from God. Am I using this piece of armor to protect the enemy from attacking my weaknesses? Or am I leaving myself exposed with my own, bare, human efforts?

-FEET SHOD WITH THE GOSPEL OF PEACE - Do I aim for peace first of all in a conflict? Do I walk it out? 

SHIELD OF FAITH TO QUENCH ALL THE FIREY DARTS OF THE WICKED ONE - Do I allow my faith in God to be greater than those darts fired towards my heart, or do I instead allow them to sink in and fester?

HELMET OF SALVATION & SWORD OF THE SPIRIT WHICH IS THE WORD OF GOD - Basically when our head (mind) is not protected, nothing is protected. Do I wear my helmet daily and take up the sword which God has given me (spiritual warfare) to fight off the enemy? Scripture needs to be planted in my heart so that during those crisis moments it is automatically there as a protection.

Finally, we are told to pray and be watchful, with perseverance. It all sounds like such a tall order, but just as a soldier puts on his armor one piece at a time, we too take up our armor piece by piece as we don it each day. 

I happen to be a military mom to a son who is a Sargant in the Canadian Army. Over the years I've been privileged to watch him grow in character and discipline, along with physical strength and prowess. It has all taken him much discipline and perseverance. His reward is that he's risen in the ranks and has become an Instructor, but more importantly, if he faces conflict, he will be much more prepared (and can help prepare others) than if he hadn't applied himself so well. I love how God uses the example of putting on our armor like a soldier, in our daily Christian lives. It's the only way to live with wisdom and it's the only way to be a Christian writer seeking to give my all for God's purposes.

Soldier On. 

 

Gloria writes from her little house on the prairies in Caron, Sk; where she lives with her husband (when he's not on the road trucking) and her cat Tigger (who lives up to his name). She doesn't like to be 'attacked' over her writing, but will gladly take careful critique where needed. If attacked again though - she plans to have her armor on and ready.

Next to being a wife, mother, grandmother, writing is her calling, whether she writes much or little, or whether she publishes or not. 

Even the Wind and the Waves - Gloria Guest

I've had a stormy week. I did not want to write this blog post at all, until I decided to just share what's on my heart. Most of you know that I'm a past reporter and a prolific reader, watcher and listener of world events, including events here in Canada. Some of you know that I'm a military mom; our youngest son, now 31 years old, has served in the Canadian Military since he was 18. 

He missed having to go to Afghanistan by one year, as he took a year at the Royal Military College, before deciding that he would rather go the non-commissioned route. As his parents, we have often wondered at the incredible timing of that. If not for that one year of school, he would have most likely been on one of the last tours to Afghanistan, before Canada withdrew. Would he have come back? And if he had come back, would he have come back the same? What would it have been like for us as parents to know our son was in a combat zone, overseas? We were so thankful that we never had to go through that. 

Since then, he has done two tours to Latvia, where he was a part of the NATO forces training Latvian soldiers to defend against Russian forces, and helped to secure the border. At no time was he in combat. Still, it wasn't easy; we knew the training could be dangerous, there are always the questions of 'what if?' He came home mid-July after serving six months and we breathed a sigh of relief knowing he was back on Canadian soil. 

 We all have heard about the tumultuous and dangerous withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, this past week. For me as a military parent, I've found my heart stirred many times, thinking of those who served, those who died, those who were injured, and all of the parents. What must they be feeling to see things end in such a way? I read of an American mother who held up her picture of her then 19 year old son, who would now be 31 (just like our son), who was killed on tour over there, at that young age. She said that she cannot bring herself to say that it was all for nothing, even though many of them are feeling that way. I can't imagine. Or the turmoil in the hearts of those who fought and lost their buddies over there. What tortuous memories have resurfaced for them? I've read that many are struggling. 

Then there are the Afghan soldiers who helped our troops as interpreters and in various other roles, who have been left behind to most likely be killed, along with their families. This was never supposed to happen. Promises were made and broken. I've since read that more effort is in the works to bring them out. However, time is running out. It was never properly planned. It was a debacle of the worst kind. 

And so, my heart has not been at peace this past week. Not. At. All. But there is this. All week, and even last week, perhaps in preparation for this week's news, I've been thinking of the scripture portion where the disciples are crossing the water with Jesus, and a huge storm rolls in. They are petrified. Yet when they look around, they discover Jesus, is sleeping through it all!! This is unacceptable to them and they wake him, shouting at him, that they were going to drown. He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds the waves obey him.

Even the wind and the waves…. It sounds like Jesus speaks to them as foolish children. 'You of little faith, why are you so afraid?' Jesus was not afraid. He slept, knowing that His Father had it all in control. And then to show them the truth, he simply rebukes the winds and waves. Just. Like. That. 

And so, with that in mind, where does that leave my tormented heart at the end of this week, with all of the what ifs? Believe me, with the state that this world is in, a military mom can come up with a lot of them. I feel like the disciples. 'Jesus, why are you sleeping?! Don’t you see me drowning here?’ Just as Jesus responded to their fears, he responds to mine. When I truly listen, truly call out to him even in a panic, he does calm the wind and waves of my heart. Often, he reminds me of when our son was born, and how when I first held him, I had such a sense of his inner strength and heard God whisper into my mother's heart, that someday that strength would be required of him. My baby. I did not know what it meant. I still don't totally. Yet God gave him that strength and God will carry him through wherever he takes him, and my heart that goes along with him. Thanks for letting me share my heart.

Gloria Guest writes and blogs from her home in Caron, Sk. As a past reporter, she has written thousands of newspaper articles and written many lifestyle columns for various publications. She is a prolific reader of world events and deeply interested in social issues, which are often reflected in her writings. Currently, she is enrolled at Simon Fraser University, working towards obtaining her Editing Certificate. (Sorry, but she was too tired to edit this post to at :D - she's still in training ;)