The Power of Words

I'm still battling a serious bout of fatigue, but I really wanted to post about this even if it takes me all day.

The other day, someone I once worked with mentioned that they were saddened because of something horrible that was said to them. I remember this former co-worker as being a friendly, helpful, and positive person. We haven't worked together in years but stay in touch via social media. Her posts and comments are always kind and sweet.

When I read what had been said to her, my heart literally ached. The words had obviously deeply affected her. Not long after I read her post, another friend posted one of those messages meant to be copied, pasted, and shared. This is that message:

Could one friend please copy and repost? We are trying to demonstrate that someone is always listening.
💚💚💚💚💚💚💚
#SuicideAwareness
1-800-273-8255
Just one person.

I usually don't pay attention to requests to "share" a post. This time, I did because I was still thinking about the awful words said to that woman. I've also been going through a very rough cycle of my own depression these past few weeks. One of the things I often wonder about is what sets off these cycles of darkness that I and other's deal with. Mostly, for me, I think it is a symptom of my body chemistry and the disease that I have. For many people, though, I think it must be a symptom of the words and actions of others.

I hope that my former co-worker has healed from what was said to her. I wish people would realize how powerful their negative words and actions can be, even those that don't seem that important to them. Here are some quotes and verses that speak to the power of words. Think about this the next time you interact with someone. Just because you have a "tougher skin" than others, don't inflict damage. One day, you might learn in a hard and painful way, just how much power you have.

"Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate, and to humble." (Yehuda Berg)

"The tongue has no bones, but is strong enough to break a heart. So be careful with your words." (Unknown)

"A broken bone can heal, but the wound a word opens can fester forever." (Jessamyn West)

"Your words have power. Speak words that are kind, loving, positive, uplifting, encouraging, and life-giving." (Unknown)

But no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. James 3:8(ESV)

Death and life are in the [a]power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs 18:21(NASB)

"We are masters of the unsaid words, but slaves of those we let slip out." (Winston Churchill)

But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought. (George Orwell, 1984)

Words are also actions, and actions are a kind of words. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Speaking of the power of your mouth, if you want to put your thoughts and words to good use, pray for me and the other members of my support group. Pray for our strength and healing. Pray for anyone who might be struggling with something

I hope that this post was coherent and that it makes the reader think.

Peace
--Free

In the Dark of Night

Depression is a non-discriminatory, all-embracing, rabid bitch of a condition. Sometimes, it just sits dormant in the back of my mind, quiet and resting up for another fight. Sometimes, it comes out to play for just a little while. Sometimes, it comes out for a old-fashioned, tent revival type of attack.

It's been a rough couple of weeks. My depression came out full force one day and left me almost breathless. I couldn't eat or sleep or even get out of bed for about three days. When I did manage to move around, it was just to write checks for bills and collect my mail. Interacting with people at all these days wears me out so I was timing my visits to the mailbox down the hall so that I didn't run into neighbors. That almost never works. For some reason, no matter how awful I feel, I can't stand not to bling out a smile and my best customer service voice when I run into people. So, yeah, spending five minutes beyond my front door wore me right out and put me off my feet for the next several hours.

This is what depression looks like for me:



Cold. Lonely. Desolate. Lost. Hazy. Isolated.

All I can think about is how each one of us is so tiny and unimportant as we exist on this planet in the middle of this galaxy of vast, vast, vastness of unfathomable vastness.

Yesterday was the first time I actually did anything halfway productive. I had to eat something because my medications were starting to curdle in my stomach without food. I've been getting by on meals of cottage cheese with some canned fruit. For a change, I heated up a couple of burritos in the microwave. Since I was already standing up and in the kitchen, I even got fancy and mixed together some ketchup and mayo for a sauce.

Maybe the cottage cheese was making the depression worse. After the burritos, my need to listen to sad songs and sob into my pillow started fading. This morning, I made tea and had a bagel for breakfast. It made my stomach hurt, but at least I kept it down.

One of the things I've been trying to do is pinpoint what pushes my depression button. It's got to be some particular thing that triggers these moods. I was just in to see my doctor before this last darkness blew in. (By the way, during the appointment, I remember having the not-nice thought that any doctor treating me should temporarily suffer from my conditions just so they would understand.) I was feeling a little bit down, but nothing like the last several days. When I try thinking of what's been different, it's all good stuff. My blood pressure has been that of a normal person for a couple of months now (instead of reading like numbers from a NASA launch), and my doctor prescribed anti-anxiety meds and some B12. My sarc symptoms have been acting the fool for a while, but that happens in regular cycles. So, what's the depression trigger? Lower blood pressure? It's a mystery to me.

Meanwhile, my book - you know, the one I've been working on for around three years? It's just sitting on my computer rolling its eyes at me every time I open the file. I don't even remember what it was like to be so excited to work on that project. I don't remember what it's like to be excited about much of anything right now. 

When I get in these moods, I find it hard to even open my Bible, but I will try to think of at least one verse to keep in mind while I lean into my faith and wait for the storms to pass. This is what I'm thinking of now:

"The LORD is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed." (Deuteronomy 31:8 NAS)

So, I'm sitting here, laying here, waiting for relief.

Peace,
Free

Subtle on the Mind ( a Review of X-Men: Apocalypse)

I am not an avid movie-goer. Matter of fact, I rarely watch movies until they've been out for a few years. I made an exception recently when I took advantage of a trial membership of HBO NOW and watched last year's X-Men: Apocalypse.

As soon as I started watching this film, I knew I'd have to blog about it. If you haven't seen the film, you might want to stop reading here. Also, if you are hostile to Christian beliefs, you really might want to stop reading here.

                                                           

I'm no film scholar nor am I great at analyzing movies, but this one was so loaded with spiritual themes that I felt overwhelmed. Since I am not good at analyzing films, let me just do some stream-of-consciousness bullet points for you:

• Egyptian symbolism was thick at the beginning. Also a lot of sly comparison to Christ/Christianity.
• The main bad-boy character is named Apocalypse (if that doesn't just smack you over the head) and he looks very demonic. His entrance into the movie is a resurrection of sorts. 
• The characters are split into 2 camps (good guys and bad guys) for the first half of the movie and each camp has a "leader". Apocalypse is, of course, the hero of the baddies.  Charles Xavier is over the good guys. (Though I will argue that it's silly to think of demon and demon-like characters as being good or bad. Demons are evil.)
• When I saw the development of the two highlighted characters (Apocalypse and Xavier), I thought of 2 Timothy 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
• It's hard not to immediately draw parallels to Christian themes (even though the movie is not Christian-friendly for those watching closely). Since most of the main characters possess special abilities and the two groups of them are at war with each other, they remind me of demons/fallen angels. I think that if we are meant to catch the angel comparison, we are supposed to identify characters as being either a "good" angel or a "bad" one. Apocalypse has a follower who is an actual "angel" (of a sort) - wings and all.     

Warren Kenneth Worthington III, originally known as Angel and later as Archangel, is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics and is a founding member of the X-Men. Wikipedia 

• Charles Xavier has the ability to 'be at one', if you will with every human and mutant. This makes him appear very God-like - or maybe I should say "Creator-like". Basically, he has this amazing "connection" to all. 
• Apocalypse has a lot of power (much as Satan does), but he wants Xavier's ability to connect with all humanity (mush as Satan would like to have the connection God has with his creation).
• There is the prodigal son figure (Magneto) who eventually comes back into the fold of the good guys. And, I guess, Apocalypse would see Magneto as a type of Judas figure.
• Of course, because of their special powers, we get to see characters doing a lot of flying around and hovering like warrior angels and demons.

Even the comic books, which have been around for a looong time,
have this running theme

                                    

I did enjoy watching the movie - as entertainment and with discernment - but couldn't help doing a lot of head shaking throughout. It's always amazing to me that Hollywood (or most of the entertainment industry) has such disdain for Christianity but will twist it for their movies. 

    There was one piece of dialogue (among many) that really stood out for me:

 Alex: Like "the four horsemen... of the Apocalypse?" He got that one from the Bible?

                                Moira: Or the Bible got it from him? 

Movie fans might not think that this is true, but there are messages in movies like this one. The message - or intention might be a better word - is to water down Christian basics and mix it in with New Age beliefs and other Luciferian ideals. Of course, they don't always openly bash Christian beliefs. I think the main intention is to glorify the humans-as-gods (mutants) hopes. 

                                                        

I have to think back to something I once read about Satan still using the lies he told in the Garden - the fourth lie, in this case: "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:1-5)

Between society's fascination with aliens/ufos, ghosts, demons, angels, super powers, increasing our intelligence (transhumanism) and always trying to match God's  powers... I think there is an agenda to get us used to the idea of all of those pursuits. If we start thinking of the abnormal as a "new normal" or the outrageously unimaginable as ordinary, and ourselves with the possibility of being "'like God", then certain people in certain industries will have achieved their goals.

I bet that more than half the people who read this post will think that I'm making too much of nothing. Some might even accuse me of being overly critical and would suggest that I just learn to accept entertainment at face value. I'm sorry if any of you feel that way. As a person with a Christian worldview (entertainment view, social view, life and culture view, etc,), I see everything through this Christian eyes. Also, I would suggest that my critics should be just as critical of this and other movies. We are in a spiritual battle and entertainment is the easiest and most subtle way to condition us into acceptance of things not always for our good.

Remember this: ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance is dangerous.

Finally, I want to share some links I ran across after I wrote this post. I wondered if many people were thinking about this movie in the same way that I was.

• From the main villain himself. He has quite a few interesting things to say. Pay attention to his resume.
• A review done by a pro, and
• another review that nailed most of my feelings
• This article makes a few statements that grated on my nerves.
• "Apocalypse views himself not as a mutant but as a god -- and, for all intents and purposes, he is potentially the God of the Old Testament." — Bryan Singer, director [source] (who I don't think I would personally like, by the way.)
• And still more from Mr. Singer.

So, the Bible comparisons were intentional.

Peace

--Free