Several years ago I was camping in the Adirondacks during the winter. The digital thermometer we had froze at 15 degrees below zero. We have no idea how cold it got that night. We were sleeping in a log lean-to which is a rather primitive 3 sided structure with a wood floor and an open front. It's kind of like sleeping on your front porch when the temperature is well below zero. Do ya feel me?
I wear a hoodie at night to help me stay warm. I made the mistake of climbing into my sleeping bag wearing the same hoodie that I had been hiking in. We had climbed a mountain during a very snowy day. The snow in my hoodie melted from my body heat. Wet and cold are partners in causing heat loss. I started to shiver as the coldness seeped down my back. I hoped that my body heat would dry up the wetness. I thought that maybe by breathing harder inside my closed sleeping bag that I would get warm. I tried running in place. Imagine yourself "running" in a sleeping bag while you're curled up in a fetal position. Nothing worked.
I knew that I would have to make myself more uncomfortable if I wanted to get warm. I lay there hoping I would get warm and also thinking about hypothermia. I wondered how long it would take before my I lost my mental clarity. Once that happened I would not be able to make healthy decisions. I knew I had to get up and cook some soup and remove the wet clothing. I fought through the onslaught of sluggishness and shivered my way out of the sleeping bag. I lit my backpack stove but the water bottles were all frozen. I carefully thawed a bottle by letting it sit in the heated pot. I was able to cook my self some Chicken Ramen Noodle Soup. IT WAS AWESOME!
After I finished the soup and put on a dry hoodie, I added one more life saving measure - a foil emergency blanket. I crawled into the sleeping bag and within a half an hour I was asleep. I woke up several hours later covered in sweat but I was warm and insulated by the emergency blanket. I had survived mostly because I was prepared. It's true that I made a bad decision in going to sleep with snow in my hoodie but my preparedness for emergencies saved my life.
Two days ago, someone I love was murdered. A cold person murdered him and now his body is cold. Last night before I drifted off to sleep, i had what you might call "a vision." In my minds eye, I saw myself standing in my backyard. I was only wearing a t shirt and some jeans. I was standing in the middle of the snow and frigid cold. My wife came out and tried to talk to me, I was incoherent. It was like the news of another murder had numbed me to the point that I was losing my mind. I thought a lot about that this morning.
Over the past 12 years I have seen many young people die. I never get used to it. My heart brakes and I cry for each murder victim. The vision was like the murders were causing a numbness in me that resulted in a kind of physical paralysis or a spiritual hypothermia. Would I become so disoriented that I would no longer be able to function? I know people like that. Fortunately for me, I am surrounded by people who watch my back physically and prayerfully. Their love and friendship thaw the coldness that murder causes. I need clarity that allows an unfrozen river of the Holy Spirit to bring fresh wisdom into my thawed spirit.
How many victims of spiritual hypothermia are walking around in Buffalo today? The freezing starts at a young age. Maybe it begins with a life devoid of love. Mom or Dad are absent or abusive. Bullying, sexual abuse, drug addiction, alcohol can become freezing agents used by the devil to help cause a spiritual hypothermia. People who are hurt develop a tendency to hurt other people to protect themselves. Each act of coldness lowers the heart temperature eventually causing it to freeze. A frozen heart has no compassion.
If we are not careful, it can happen to us. Life always has cruel blizzards of destruction that cause a freezing in our hearts. We have to be prepared for each season in our lives. After the first murder, it becomes easier to pull the trigger in the second murder. In the course of time, murder becomes an unthinkable act in an unfeeling heart. I hurt for the unfeeling heart that has been frozen by icy acts of bitterness.
The devil has already been defeated by love. The devil murders, steals and destroys. The longing in your soul to be accepted and valued has been placed there by God. You may not believe in Him but He believes in you. There is no pile of dirt that He will not pull you out of. There is nothing that you have done that He can't wipe away. There is no coldness that He cannot thaw with His love. I know the coldness of evil and I know the warmth of God's love. I choose love and I don't murder.
If you have read this and would like to thaw your heart, I invite you to contact me. You can text or call 716-830-8340. I will never give up on DeMario. I never gave up while he was physically alive. I won't give up on him now. I pray that God forgives him as He forgave me. I pray that he lives in the warmth of God's love forevermore.
Romans 12:17-21
17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,”[a] says the Lord. 20 Therefore
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”[b]
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Thanks for your time.
Go do something nice for somebody.
Jesus loves you and so do we - JLYASDW
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