Stronger than Hate

Sometimes I know it’s hard to believe that good things can happen to us. Sometimes of course we are the ones who block those good things from coming our way because of all the “old lies” we allow to live in our minds and bodies. But blessings ARE possible. Miracles surround us. The trick is to open our inner, spiritual eyes to their presence. Like the man at church ….

A part of the church service I go to (The First Community Recovery Church) is called “prayer time.” What that means to us is anyone who wants comes forward and joins a circle around the altar for prayer. Well, not a circle exactly. The group that gathers around the altar in our church is layered. By that I mean it is more like a tight knot with people standing in front of, behind, on the side of each of us.

We touch. Sometimes it is holding hands and sometimes it is about reaching out and putting a hand on the shoulder of the person in front of you – or someone will reach out and put their hand on your shoulder. Often little sub groups of folks who have gone through the fire of recovering from addiction together or been to court for each other or stood with them through a crises have their arms around each other. We believe it is not right to say a prayer if we are not willing to BE prayers for each other.

Last week during prayer time I noticed the back of a hand on a shoulder in front of me. That’s all I saw. It was a man’s hand but I couldn’t see whom it belonged to because other people were crowded around between me and the man the hand belonged to. But I saw what it said. Across each finger was tattooed the letters H A T E.

When the prayer ended and we broke up I found the man who belonged to the hand. He was a handsome fellow in his 30’s. There was a lot of gratitude and peace in his face. His tattoo told me that was not always the case. I said, “Love is the only thing stronger than hate, isn’t it.” He looked me in the eye and said, “Ain’t it the truth.”

Change is possible. Change is a choice. Miracles abound proving this is so. All that’s waiting for one of those miracles being OUR MIRACLE is reaching out and claiming it. Why not claim it now?

Tags: change is a choice, emotions, finding love, personal growth, recovery, relationships, spirituality