PIECE BY PEACE-THE INNER CONNECTION

PIECE BY PEACE - THE INNER CONNECTION 

As a young boy I had “Connect the Dot” books which contained blank pages with numbered dots on them. With a pencil you started from the number one dot and connected a line to the next number dot and so on. As you went along, a picture began to unfold. Page after page each image complemented the next, telling a story piece by piece to the very last page. The whole picture and story was connected over time, completed when the work was finished. The author of the book knows the outcome of the story and all the pictures. It is for us to work at each page, to complete the unknown task before us. 

It is very profound, that this concept parallels our own life. Each day connecting to the next, unfolding a picture, a completed story, a journey from birth to death. God is the author of our life, setting forth each day, a task with interconnecting pieces of a journey, being filled, with people and places and experiences; with labor of work, and gaining knowledge; with love and emotions; with spiritual insight and freedom of will. 

Our lives are not only lived day to day, but by fragments of moments. Moments like dots on a page, reaching to the next, creating a diary, an accumulation of earthly works. God does not give us the whole picture all at once, but only, frame by frame, interwoven with each delicate moment. It is for this reason, God gives pieces of events, time to mesh and interconnect in their designated place. 

It is common knowledge, that the most direct distance between two points is a straight line. However, our lives are complicated by unseen circumstances, and the direction of our journey is altered, taking twists and turns away from our destination. God leads us in opportunity for correction and illumination on our journey, for each connecting moment is changeable, for inspiration or deed. This Illumination is through daily prayer, each prayer, a piece to "inner peace". It is this avenue from one point to another which is established, from one heart to another. With substance of prayer, our inner connection between the heart and soul is molded; and our spirit is moved in outward directions, reaching and touching those around us. 

One’s heart must be spiritually active, to be motivated to pursue a presence with the Lord. For it is within the element of compassion that is rich in value, submersed in mercy and forgiveness, which He himself has taught us from the cross. This, is a personal love. It is very personal, for the desire and depth, to love, to distinguish yourself from others, and endure a path to heaven. It is in gracious moments of grace, the Lord speaks to us, and guides our direction. All we need to do, is give our heart to the Lord. Surrender it, and release it into His divine mercy. For this is the piece, to peace. Let Him take your heart totally, in trust and in faith. With the Lord leading your heart and life, who can defeat you, but you yourself, without Him. I learned sometime ago, I could not be of substantial service to anyone without Him. He leads me; I follow, and in turn, have been given guidance and direction with peace and solace. For one's life has no greater value unless used for the good for others, and the betterment for those we nourish. 

In the winter, one does not go out in the cold without a coat to warm the body, nor without shoes to cover the feet. So too, one’s body, needs spiritual insight nourished with prayer to warm the heart and melt the hardness of one's inner self. Prayer is the fuel to the furnace of the heart, and the compassionate blanket to the soul. It produces fragrance to the soul, with peace and calmness, and instills mercy and forgiveness to the tongue. Prayer is a direct link to heaven, and gives reverence to your spirit. It is a dialogue of petition in matters beyond our control, and gives praise and thanksgiving for gifts received. This connection of prayer, needs to be maintained by delicate manifestations of the heart, in expressions, flowing with softness, and repentance. In silence, away from distractions, a tone of gentleness of presence is lifted up in preparation for your heart to speak. Like a glowing rhapsody of music, or the flowing of a gentle nocturne, the well of your heart begins to flow, in a stream of inter connecting pieces of compassionate prayer. 

When your life has ended here, to be taken up, be not a stranger to the next life; for how will you know the road to get there, and what will you do when you reach the next plateau? It is a journey of which we all take a direction; a reservation is in your name, to be called, a dot on a page, connecting to the next. Before our invitation arrives, it is our life's work to connect the dots, from heart to heart, to excel in goodness. For love, is the binder of all things. 

If your heart can love unconditionally, you have been gifted with a treasure from heaven. Love with fragrance; for the flowers you plant here, will grow in heaven. 

Robert J. Varrick
rjvarrick@gmail.com