A WELCOME NOTE:
Greetings, and a very warm welcome to you. Thank you for taking some time to share in my philosophical foibles. It's my hope that within these entries you might find encouragement, challenge, laughter, counsel and companionship for the journey ahead. Carpe Diem!
Check out www.grantcyster.com for more details. Catch me on Twitter at: GACyster
The lyrics of a song from a few years back read: "There's a God-shaped hole in all of us, and a restless souls is searching. There's a God-shaped hole in all of us, and it's a void, that only You can fill."
The human heart was created to worship. One way or another, it finds something or someone to ascribe worship to. This fact is as certain as it is of a flute that is created to make music, or of a candle that is created to provide light. Of course, just because a candle was created to provide light, does not mean that it cannot be used for another purpose. It can decorate a birthday cake. It can be used in the preparation of an addict's drug fix. It can be used in the destructive act of arson. The possibilities are many, but they do not alter the fact that the candle was first and foremost created to illuminate its surroundings.
Not too long ago a friend of mine made the observation about the peculiarity of people constructing nuclear power stations on or in very close proximity to major geographical fault lines. This is revealing itself to be a very precarious business, as is becoming all too evident as we observe events unfolding in Japan, following the 6th largest earthquake in recorded history. May the good Lord be with the Japanese people and bring them comfort. In a tangible sense, it raises the issue of the importance of exercising wisdom and forethought when it comes to constructing something that is not only of great value, but that is also potentially costly when the foundation on which it is constructed proves to be unsound.
A friend of mine recently asked me how I go about understanding God...what concretely defines my "handle" on him. If I was to go with the typical responses I'd expect to receive from many in religious or spiritual circles, I suppose there would be no shortage of trite and neatly packaged slogans and statements used to address the subject. The fact of the matter for me is that the business of attempting to define God falls into a similar kind of category to that of someone, blind from birth, being asked to describe what the sun looks like. There is little or no doubt that the phenomenon exists, but how to go about describing it when subject to such a limiting handicap would prove to be a very challenging task.
No...I'm not talking about THAT. Tsk Tsk!
There are a number of things in life that are of incredible importance and that we regularly fail to appreciate and cultivate...that is, until we lose them. One of the most important of these things is our physical health. What good is it having the noblest intentions and the grandest plans for the future, if your body is incapable of supporting your journey towards making your dreams a reality? It's like the air we breathe. We scarcely reflect on its importance, but take it away for a few minutes and our priorities radically and rapidly shift. That however is a matter of reaction, which is hardly the best approach to take. The old adage rings true here: prevention really is better than cure.
