It's been a week.....

I try not to worry.  But it's not easy.  I know worry is bad because if I worry then I am not trusting that God is in control. 

 

Last week I was in Metropolis at Metrotown (woo..cool name for just another mall in the lower mainland like all the other malls......)  It struck me (again) what a tacky world we live in.  The man-made parts..not the God-made parts.  Being in a mall sometimes reminds me of being at a circus.   It's noisy.  It smells like food, sweat, and cheap shoe stores (ok the circus doesn't smell like a cheap shoe store...and might I add that the word "cheap" refers to the quality of the shoes..not the prices).  People are rushing around with expensive bags full of tacky clothing.  Other people are shuffling along wishing they had money to spend on the tacky clothing. 

 

The only thing I really enjoy looking at are the puppies in the pet store even though I know they are probably all from puppy mills.  They are extremely cute and I worry about what kind of people will buy them.  Will they get loving homes or will they be neglected and abused because of the stress of puppy training?  It breaks my heart and I fight the urge to set them all free which isn't too difficult considering the fact that if they were set free they would run into traffic and be killed.

 

I notice (sadly) that some of the mannequins in some of the stores have masculine faces and feminine bodies.  This worries me.  Where are we headed?

 

Then there's the problem of "jeggings" on grown women.  They're everywhere!!!  And they're really really ugly.  Who seriously wants to see women flaunting their perfectly flat tummies in leggings that are called by a cool name...but are really just tights that should be worn with a long shirt?  Or worse yet..who wants to see flabby women wearing these things???  Sadly, the women who can get away with it are just taunting and making fun of the ones who really shouldn't and the ones who shouldn't are just...sorry....unpleasant!!!!  This worries me.

 

My heart aches when I see the world full of mindless fads and electronic gadgets that are turning us away from God and His values (the ones that He created to protect us from the very things that are pulling us away from Him).  I worry about the fact that we are no longer allowed to have opinions about things that might be considered "right wing".  I worry that "political correctness" is creating "spirtual blindness".  I worry about what the future holds for my grandchildren.

 

The first thing I memorized when I was a kid was a scripture verse that my Granny and Great-Grandmother had on their wall. A black velvet background with gold sparkly letters that I now have in my bedroom. Revelations 21:25 (KJV)..."and the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day, for there shall be no night there..." I was always fascinated by that and when my Granny explained that there would be no night in Heaven, I liked that thought...(because to me it meant "no more bedtime"...)

I think a lot about Heaven lately and I'm pretty sure that it will be like earth in many ways but without all the manmade stuff.  Oceans, forests, gardens, sunrises and sunsets, mountains and rivers and all things created by God...but no bridge tolls, highrises, malls or power lines.  No cars or pipelines.  No income tax, gym memberships, unions, food banks or dollar stores.  No smart phones, i-phones, commercials or park n rides.  No auto-flush toilets that startle the daylights out of me when I'm not expecting automatic flushing.

 

The thought of Heaven makes me smile and gives me hope.  Hope for no more tears of sadness, no more misunderstandings, or loneliness.  Lots of laughter and tears of joy.