February Twenty-fifth; Smoke and Mirrors

The fog has yet to lift, and in this lifetime, along this journey, it never fully will.

The fog was settling in before I called it a night last night. This morning it was thick and heavy, seeing any real distance was a struggle. Here it is nearing noon and the fog still hangs though only slightly less heavy. When I went outside to feed the cats, I could hear the moisture falling like rain, the cats dishes capturing some of the water. Knowing my backyard, I have a good idea what is out there within the mist, but there remains a slight uncertainty. What visitor may wander up into the yard where the vision is clear?

I am not a politician, nor do I write political posts, so this is not one even as I comment on events.

We have and continue to go through the Covid virus and its many mutations. Though now they say that this latest may be where we see this going from pandemic to endemic. From the first signs of this until now, we have sought to find out exactly what we were dealing with and how to handle what we faced. Like a weather report, the news and information changed moment to moment. It felt as if we were trying to make our way through a thick fog.

There have been many acts of violence over the recent past. Stores looted, businesses burned, people injured and killed. The reports coming out different, depending on who you were listening and watching. We sat as if watching a production without a program. The players shifting positions with and within each act. Where was truth and how do we find where it lurks in the mists?

Canadian truck drivers formed a massive convoy. Their intent to draw attention to and bring about change in what was wrong, illegal, unfair. Though not in Canada, as an observer I watched and learned what I could. Yet like everything else, we were fed a large dish of confusion. Half truths, lies, accusations and even doses of truth slipping through. How does one discern fact from fiction in this cloud cover of confusion?

We all know that currently there is a war going on in Ukraine. Russia made its move. From the beginning when it was a threat until now, as in everything else, the words shift as sand in a windstorm. The threats, accusations, promise of retaliation all mixed together as we stand on the sidelines watching the explosions in the distance. But where does the truth wait to be found? How do we as distant observers find out the entirety of what is going on? How do we see through those ever shifting mists and see the damage being done to innocent people? how do we ascertain how far reaching this may be?

Sitting here, looking out the window at the fog hanging low, I wonder how much of what is going on is smoke and mirrors? People, innocent people are dying. I believe there was a virus. I have seen the riots and what their results. I know there is a war happening. But, my heart and mind wonders, attempting to back away from conspiracy theories, yet still wondering, are we merely pawns? Are we being played as if in a game? Are the innocent lives lost nothing more than unnecessary collateral unimportant in the grand scheme?

Yet, even as I gaze as the thick fog, I can see this one thing. Since the fall of man in the garden, we have dealt with sin. The devil has taken advantage of man’s weaknesses and used them for his end. Greed, power hunger, hate, ignorance, lust, only a few of the things that are used against us. I sit here, my vision limited as to how far past the yard I can see, understanding that my vision of what is happening around us in the battle between angel and demon is even more restricted. Billy Graham wrote in his book about angles, about that battle. He said that there is a veil between us and the spiritual world protecting us from seeing that battle. Because we would not be able to handle what we saw.

Mankind, each and every individual, is under constant spiritual attack. We face obstacles in our walk constantly. Though we cannot see His face, we can feel His presence. We can rely on His protection. We can call out to Him in the fog and seek His wisdom and answers on how to handle the things we face.  There are many things I do not know or understand. What I do know is that He is with me, walking with me, guiding my steps and sheltering me in the fogs and mists of this life. In Him, I will trust and believe. Everything else, is but smoke and mirrors.