May 20, 1993

Lesson #14: Protecting yourself from negatives.

Your lessons so far have been about things that you are fairly familiar with and you have been practicing, but this time we would like to introduce some new ideas.
A way to protect yourself from negatives. You mostly arrange to avoid being close to negative people. But we are asking you to take these people into your confidence. Let them confide in you. Ask them how you can help. You will be rewarded by your persistence and willingness to serve. How many times has someone listened to you as you expounded upon your troubles? We see this as giving you an opportunity to serve as well as learning to not shun or avoid undesirable or troublesome situations.
Our goal here is in being unafraid of any trouble.
To avoid is one way to not handle this fear of encountering difficulties. Fear not the way to growth. Take up the things that are fearful to you and make them into strengths by seeking these things so to face them with love courageously. You will not only benefit but you will trust yourself with more confident actions in choosing to act in God's stead.
Face the things you fear. Be brave and take the steps forward. In most cases, you had nothing to fear but your own concerns. Let us look closely at situations as this. Face things that cause you concern. Stand up to these situations. Report to the group of how you stepped into the arena of facing your ,lions, or secret fears. Stand up and be brave enough to face and to even share with the group what these scary lions were about. Whoever among you can admit to these fears, face them, and report about them, these people are the really brave group members who are willing to face themselves and grow. All of you have your hidden agendas with fears. Some of you are even unwilling to admit that you have fears.
This lesson is not so much about ,fears, as having the love in your heart to care enough to bypass your concerns and go further,extend yourself by giving comfort or just by listening actively while another gets rid of their negatives. Should you do this on a continual basis? Use your common sense. Friends are ready to get the gist of the concern and help dissolve it by love or by humor. Be creative, be silly about some problems that you face. Years from now you, too, will be laughing at the seriousness of how you lived your life here on Urantia. We see the masks that have hidden the more important work.
Many of your concerns and worries weren't worth getting ,all worked up, over. Yes, you will be laughing at yourself and with your fellow mortals if you take the time to review your life. Look at the times you stayed with an idea until you in every sense ,murdered, it before you let go of it. The concern was gone but you kept talking about it, until it was quite boring even to yourself.
You have the CHOICE of choosing what and how you will conduct your problems...or are they challenges? You have the POWER OF CHOICE. This is your ability in which to reach up for the higher way of living in the peace of the Father's love or in the depths of despair of petty materialistic thinking. While you can choose your attitude, that attitude encompasses the elements to help you grow or stay stuck. Looking with both eyes, you may now see the futility of delay.
Live each day in the Father's love. Let your life flow like liquid love. Let it flow in this love that glides over inane difficulties and sees the importance of how to live above mundane annoyances, while you live joyfully in the spirit leadings. Spirit will teach you, spirit will lead you along the path of truth to righteousness. Place your needs with this caring guidance. Place all, give all in faith, into being with the Father's will. Do your part. Move into action and make the choices that are placed before you. Act out your daily living in the Father's love.
Play, have fun and laugh at these annoyances. Put your energy into the big challenges. These are to be thought about, these are to be prayed about, and in the Father's bosom you can get the right answers. They filter down to you. Talk with the Father, ask his advice and sort out some alternatives. Look at the choices with God, because his help is near and available.
He does not withhold from you. Take the time to be in his presence. Give him the time to allow the answers to be given to you. Know with certainty the Father desires association with you. HE HAS WAITED PATIENTLY ALL THESE LONG YEARS WITH YOU, BY YOU. YES THE FATHER IS PATIENT WITH YOU. The Father has loved you by being patient. Look at how long the Father has cared for you until you could take up this power to use it for others. Think about this idea and have the SAME PATIENCE that God exhibited through the years with you.
Love has many facets. Love displays the fruits of the spirit. Yes, true love is spontaneous. It is given when it is needed. Kindnesses of the heart are what the Father gives to you. Look for these kindnesses in your life. Thank him each morning and each night. All day, as you give your day to God, thank him for guiding you down the path of happiness. Joy will be in your heart.
Love will encourage you to share with others, simply because you can act no other way. It is. It will be because you want your life to shine forth with this guidance. You will get more help if you lead such a daily routine. As your energy is in tune with the spiritual passages of time, you can be reached more easily. But largely you want to be nudged into what can be the beautiful habits of performing acts of gentle love.
Remember, love is a two way street with the Father. Yes, all these years his care and concern for you was given much of the time without your knowledge. But now you are more aware of what he does for you. You actually see the results in your daily business. You can no longer go about your duties without reciprocating. This would not be heavenly etiquette, as Jeannie says.
Yes, we are asking you to have good manners. To thank God, and thank God, and thank him again and again. Your attitude will change. Your love will develop in thankfulness with great thanksgiving and worship toward the Father.
You will change. This, then, will be the change that all will see. They will notice this change. Nothing as wonderful as thankfulness can be kept secret. It shines on your face. It uplifts your heart. You will be singing. You will be happy. All because you are more thankful.
Just this simple routine is enough to develop a better relationship with God, with your fellows, with yourself.
After you have practiced this for three months, we guarantee you will exude a sparkle that will ring of truth. It will be truly beautiful, and it will border on goodness.
We love you dear children. You are our pupils. You willingly come to hear our words and to ask your questions. We are friends together in the partnership of God. We follow his voice wherever it takes us. Yes, we know that this is truly what makes us happy. It is our very and only way of living. We let the Father express through us, and we are eternally surprised with the love that flows out from us.
Love freely comes from the Father. Will there ever be a shortage of love to use for others? Are you a mortal who uses love sparingly? Step aside from guilt here and just allow the question to be asked objectively. Or do you dole out love as if coming from scarcity? We are only suggesting you look from a different viewpoint. We are asking you to look at your actions from the point of view that will raise more questions for you. If love is freely given to you, why not freely give it to others?
This is a new way of looking so you can be awakened anew. Be patient with yourself. Step aside and take a look at your life, questioning from a different angle. Do you have the courage to stop and think about these simple questions?
Use love in all your dealings with yourself and with others. Be kind and gentle. Stop to remember, love is available to be shared. Sharing love proves itself. Shared love is spread through the universe. Love is the Father's only power that rules in his universe. How does love change someone? Why is love so powerful? We are asking the questions of you. As you see, turnabout is fair play. We are allowed some questions as well.
This is turning into a long session. We hope you have missed our lessons this last couple of weeks. Naturally, we made up for it on this one by sharing more. Nevertheless, this is an important lesson for those of you who will take it seriously with good naturedness and lightness of heart. Explore these ideas. Seek out your own questions about how love has changed your life.
We assure you that you will be surprised at the closeness this discussion will bring to the group, as well as by the outcome.
Let us address how to go about this lesson. Discuss these ideas:
1. Take the questions about ,love, and write down your answers. Share from time to time about this viewpoint, this way of looking? You can add your own questions.
2. Allow the three months to go by for more happiness to appear when you practice the ,Thankfuls to God.,
Discuss the values you have gained. We would also ask you to continue to evaluate these ideas. Expand on them. Have some fun with these ideas. Delight in exploring with your awakened hearts.
We plan to bring up the topic ourselves in the weekly meetings.
Our last thoughts: If love is the most important power in the universes of universes, why not discuss it? Why hold it so carefully to yourself? and why not express it till you do understand its power? Thank you for your attention and willingness to do the work that we request of you every week. Blessings and joy.
The love teachers: A&O