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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Eek! (02/25/10)
It all started back in a Christianity class over a discussion of the Apostle Paul’s experience at the road to Damascus. I, too, shared a blinding experience outside of Jerusalem; however, I did not encounter Jesus. While in the U.S. Navy, anchored at sea off the coast of Alexandria, Egypt, I had the opportunity to visit the land where it all started.

On the morning of the tour, I woke up in blindness. I slept in my contacts the night before and had one lens shifted almost to the back on my right eye. Any light, whatsoever, from the right or from the left caused excruciating pain. My only comfort was complete darkness, something that was familiar with me. Fortunately, a U.S. Naval physician was able to retrieve the contact lens. Unfortunately, my trip to Jerusalem never happened; I never walked on the Holy Land.

Everything under the sun seemed to have taught me more than I could have ever imagined, but I knew nothing of the things, which I should have. Inquisitive and studious of worldly teachings, I developed a backbone and guts frame of mind; obsessed, coerced, and fed by pride that gave birth to a mentality that was well nourished and matured into an appearance of a foolish man fixing broken and unbroken things without delegation or superiority. Attempting, all of myself, to make better things better, and perfect more perfect, I made a mess of worse things.

Examining and testing, logically and with good reason, I was unknown to myself searching for purpose. Freed by will but led by captivity; I was in a constant tug-of-war. Captivated by choices, standing within a weak polar position, my walk in life was unbalanced. A flood of ink was spilt without a drop to see, reflections of the image were blurred of what I wanted to be.

Experience has taught me that when a door is closed, there may be a window open; a window that spreads light in cavernous places that allow us to see the blurred image more clearly.

Through experience, life is lived as a metaphor as an exam when lessons are not easily prepared beforehand. Through its lessons, yesterday is the past. It is about time when life comes at a rate of 60 seconds per minute. While peeking of the past and starring at the present, we understand more of Einsteinian language informing us of our time on earth is spaced within time so everything thing does not all happen at once.

There were times when I was not quite sure of things, this I know. I did not know what I believed, until I knew what I did not believe. As lightening strikes and thunder soon follows, I was not aware of the things I was saying until I listened to what I had said. Searching for a piece of mind was the longest part of this journey; a distance traveled from the heart to the mind. Subsequently, giving rise to the whole rather than to the fraction—I found peace.

A peace that shattered the confinement within me that was able to read between the lines once I knew where the line started. A peace that startled a baffled mind with favorable interruptions, without waiting for the world’s approval for something performed so well without error, gave me an upright stance.

Standing squarely on placid ground broke the voice of guilt within the bank of my heart, which gave dividends that rewarded me understanding of my purpose in life. A purpose that changed from temporal priorities to a real purpose of prioritizing what I could do for God. I had an epiphany, a sudden understanding of my purpose—glorifying and serving the will of God—Eureka!

By accepting the light of Christ, our image, what we see in ourselves becomes clear and progresses forward in perfection to that one day when we, as Christians, return home to the Kingdom of God in heaven.
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This article has been read 874 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Jan Ackerson
03/04/10
Your writing is moody and introspective--that's a good thing!

I had a hard time finding the topic of "Eek" in here, and there were perhaps too many commas...

...but your writing is good, and I enjoyed this entry.
Verna Mull
03/04/10
A good testimony. Eureka will do it for me, but probably not the real meaning of Eek!
Noel Mitaxa 
03/04/10
I like your intensity and honesty as you take us through your discoveries. I was also not clear on the Eek factor, since the tone is more reflective than surprised, but congratulations on opening your heart to us.
Delores McCarter
03/05/10
Nice reflection, but I didn't see the assigned word used in this story.

???

Otherwise, it was pretty good.
Allen Stark
03/05/10
It is obvious that you wrote about what you perhaps thought was an "eeky" experience, and you DID use the sound in the word "Eureka."
Gina Fifo
03/06/10
I felt your "eek". You have a way with words for sure. Some sentences were beautifully written and some were too deep and complex for me to "get" with one pass. An interesting piece.
AnneRene' Capp
03/06/10
You sure did a good job, exercising MY mind. I too had to take a second sweep at many sentences in order to understand what you were saying, HOWEVER, once I did understand, I too, have felt almost all of what you've written which I found to be refreshing. You put feelings I have felt, into words I never had :)
Shann Hall-LochmannVanBennekom 
03/08/10
This is a great description of your lessons learned in life. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me.
Beth LaBuff 
03/10/10
What I enjoyed in your entry was your use of Biblical phrases and allusion to Biblical events, "Everything under the sun" and "Paul's blinding experience," then your argument about "superiority" so much mirrored Paul's. Very good work on this!