Sunday Afternoon Tea - Truth From Unexpected Places

There are more days than I would like to admit that I find myself lost in my To Do list without the ability to quickly assess priorities.  I  feel unteathered... as if a strong wind could topple me over at a moment's notice.  It has been one of those years.

I know my concentration has been off when writing doesn't bring the joy it usually does to my heart.  For awhile I even lost my ponder.  I think it has returned.

When there has been one life hit after another in quick succession, one begins to wonder if life will ever have a look of normal again.  I have been here before and the answer is... yes.  Kind of..  In a way.  For it may be a new normal.

I seek wisdom for I know from experience that God never wastes a trial.  When there have been two or three or four in succession, overlapping before another is resolved, He is especially getting my attention.  The intense need for wisdom and direction is sought more than in the seasons of life when everything is "same old, same old".

Wisdom usually arrives but not always from a direction I expected. I have had Eureka moments while reading a novel, watching a movie, chatting with a friend, hiking trails, and yes... reading my Bible.  However, one expects to find Truth in the Word of God.  From a favorite TV show?  Not so much.

My favorite episode of the Canadian family drama called Heartland, occurs in Season 2 when Amy's horse, Spartan, refuses to jump after being rescued from kidnappers.  Amy decides to seek help from her late mother's friend, Victor, a Native Canadian horse trainer who is known to help traumatized horses.

Victor realizes right away that it is not Spartan who needs help but it is Amy.  Amidst the beautiful background of the Canadian Rockies in winter, Victor takes Amy on walks and even teaches her to play golf (sorta').  Amy continually asks him when he is going to work with Spartan but he always tells her it will be soon.  Instead he spends time with her in conversation.

[Now, I must throw in a disclaimer here for anytime we seek wisdom outside of the canon of Scripture.... we must practice discernment.  As we pray, I believe the Holy Spirit within gives us either peace or a sense of uneasiness.

However, as Augustine is often quoted... "All truth is God's Truth".  We need only to discern if what we are reading or watching or listening to is Truth.  When it comes to some First Nation teaching, I think of Romans 1 when Paul talks about how God's Truth is in the heart of man because of what is around him (nature) that proclaims His presence.]

Victor takes Amy to a location on his land where he has set up a medicine wheel used by First Nations.  As he walks it with her, he explains how our life can get unbalanced, especially when we have suffered trauma as she has with her mother's death and most recently Spartan's kidnapping.

I was amazed that he was actually teaching what we would call the importance of keeping spirit, soul, and body in balance.  Suffering trials can take us off balance and affect every part of us more than we realize.  Any kind of trauma to the body will affect the spirit and the soul.  Trauma to the soul (our mind, our thoughts, how we see ourselves, etc.) can affect the body.

One of the specialists I went to in the Detroit area told me that while they do not know what is the cause of all auto immune diseases (like Type 1 diabetes), there is a strong relationship between high levels of stress (the mind) and developing diseases (the body). 

I watched this episode again recently and it helped me understand that my current state of being unteathered is not due to a lack of faith, or not walking with God close enough, or any other sort of lie the enemy of our souls whispers to bring about doubt and confusion.  I am rather overwhelmed with uncertainty at the moment and it affects... everything

I have wondered why there are times when I find God's Truth in secular places.  I mean apart from the fact that everything was created by Him in the first place.  I came to realize that they offer me a different perspective on a situation.

It is much the same as stepping back to get a better focus or simply coming at a problem from a different angle.  The secular lens can be quite different than the Scriptural way of seeing and when used by God, can be that which shines light onto Truth.

In this episode, before returning to Heartland, we see Amy riding Spartan as he makes every jump perfectly.  Spartan is the same but his owner now has the wisdom and courage to heal from the traumas of her past.  Thanks to a wise teacher, she is once again in balance.

Of course, our secular teachers will never be perfect and neither will they always be 100% Biblical.  However, when one has walked with God for awhile and learned to listen to Him, when one knows what the real Truth is from His Word... then the secular offers us insight we who still walk in the flesh can utilize.

I personally love it when God uses the unexpected.  It is as if he slips one through once in awhile to remind us He can use anything to bring us wisdom and make us more like Jesus.  Even a secular TV show about a horse ranch.

Mentioned in this Blog Post
Heartland, Season 2... here.
Full Circle is available as an episode through Amazon Video... here (#17).

Disclaimer:  Most links to Amazon.com are Associate links.  I thank you.