Christian Living

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Larry Lilly's Letter Tuesday January 13, 2009

I enjoy doing these daily letters due to the fact that I have the liberty to write about whatever strikes my fancy. Only those who are constantly the slave of a particular political persuasion or strait jacket religious hum Liberty,drum can envy the wonder of the liberty that I enjoy. I have the oft used privilege of really ticking off each of my readers at some point or another. I don't try to do this; it just comes with my free spirit ideas. An old friend, now departed, use to say of uptight ideologues as being so narrow minded that "a gnat could stand on the bridge of their nose and with one kick black both eyes."

I often work with "addicts," people who are addicted to some debilitating habit formerly called sin, now some sort of disease. There are myriads of programs and methods designed to help such folks exchange their current addiction for the blessing of becoming addicted to the program. A simplification certainly, but also a certain truth.

I want to reveal a secret known to every professional counselor and especially those who work with addicts of any persuasion. This truth is expressed plain and simply by Carlos Castaneda:

"We hardly ever realize that we can cut anything out of our lives, anytime, in the blink of an eye."

Even the good ole boy from Kentucky, Abe , noted that "Most people are about as happy as they make up their mind to be." Most unhappiness is the result of choosing unhappiness. Zig Ziglar calls this addiction "stinking thinking" which can be cured by "getting a check up from the neck up." Solomon put it like this in Proverbs 23:7 "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:"

In my studied opinion no one will break the power of any addiction until their mind and heart is committed to breaking the habit/addiction. As long as excuses are made for having the habit, placing blame on someone or some event, there is no program on earth or in heaven that will make one ounce of difference. A while ago I made a few "grouchy" remarks to the bride of my youth. I noticed her lower lip quiver ever so slightly and I knew that I had hurt her to the quick. I wondered to what lengths she would go to get even. She never made any poor me remarks or wished her mother were among the living. When we prayed prior to bed time she did phrase a prayer to the "Lord God of the Highest Heaven that He in His mercy and grace would find her Larry with the thick slightly wavy black hair who loved her dearly and bring him back, as some fat, bald and very grouchy old man had somehow replaced her real Larry."

First, let me say, such prayers are unfair. That said, I realized that bald is something beyond my control, though I could buy some inexpensive 501 Dupont Nylon and have some store bought hair made. I do admit that I can DO something about being chubby, and most certainly can and MUST do something about being grouchy.

I humbly and sincerely apologized to The Great Blonde which she described as "Larry, slithered, snake like up to me and groveled." Joyce is much younger than me, and thus does not recognize the posture of a true supplicant of the Most High. By the Grace of Christ I choose to be physically fit, to think young and to get rid of the old grouch that tries to live within. But, I insist "Bald IS beautiful."

Larry Lilly Copyright © 2009 Use with credit.

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