A dog returns to it's vomit

12/15/10 Wednesday
It’s going to be an interesting day. There is much that has happened and I’m not sure how to write about it, or even if I should. I will touch on something but not in great detail, mostly to cover the spiritual principles revealed by these events, coupled with a desire to protect and perhaps help the individual involved. Meantime my back pain is predictably high, but I knew it would be. I will continue working on the bathroom, dressing out the window first and then putting in drywall. The drywall will all be smaller pieces that I can cut before hand so it won’t be as much of a strain to handle as the two full sheets I put up yesterday.

I talked about that on facebook yesterday, but not on this blog so I would be remiss if I didn’t cover it. A good part of the day was spent putting up only two sheets of drywall. This is definitely not a one man job, but there is only me so either I tackle it or nothing gets done. Nothing getting done is a great frustration when it comes to the bathroom so I will push on the best I can. As always the motto here is “do the best you can with what you’ve got” and what I’ve got right now is me.

I started out the day yesterday with going to the jail. The last guy there had been shipped off to prison last week so I wondered if there would be anyone new incarcerated. Nope, the jail’s still empty. The sheriff was there and I always enjoy talking to him. He joked “I guess I should go out and arrest some people so you’ve got someone to talk to”. We talked a little about things. John asked me, with genuine interest, what I’d been working on lately. I told him about the bathroom and how slow it was going. It was busy with people having to fill out forms and stuff so I excused myself to get out of the way.
Coming home I tackled putting up drywall. In my mind I was going to a whole lot more than that, with a list of hopeful accomplishments, but the drywall took till 4:00 and finished me off. The first sheet wasn’t too bad. I dragged it carefully into the house, trying my best not to buckle a corner. Took some maneuvering to fit it through the door, around the corner, and to the spot it was going. Lots of back and forth, leaning it on things so I could move to the other end and drag it in different directions. It got there and I screwed it in place. When I dragged the second sheet in I noticed a mistake I made with the first. Didn’t leave room for the final sheet of hardiboard that can’t be put on the floor until I’m able to remove the toilet and reinstall it in a new direction. So I unscrewed the drywall sheet and lifted it up the half inch needed and reinstalled it.


Then came the real contest. The second sheet needed to go on top of the other to cover the top half of the wall. I carefully measured and cut out holes where the electric socket and light switch are, and then worked to lift it into place. It’s a squeeze as the wall is exactly 8 foot long, the panels are 8 foot long, and nothing in this house is square, so struggle, lift, try, hurt, it doesn’t fit, and it slips out of my hands and falls. I see an area that needs to be cut to make room for the half inch thick drywall I installed on the other wall, so cut it. Still doesn’t fit, cut some more, lift, struggle, hurt, drop it again, and repeat this process for two hours. Finally it fits but now I’m holding it in place and wondering where my screw gun is. Of course it’s out of reach so I stretch my six foot frame, with one hand holding the sheet of drywall as I extend my foot to try and kick the cordless drill closer. The drywall falls down so this time I make sure drill and screws are within reach as I lift this thing into place again. At last it gets done but now I hurt so much walking is difficult. I sneezed and the pain racked my back like someone stabbing me with a knife. That’s it, I’m done for the day. Take a pain pill and lay down. That’s where I still was when Cherie came home from work, and pretty much where I stayed the rest of the night.

Cherie filled me in on the details of our friend’s downfall. It was sad to hear but we knew it was coming. Here is where I will be careful to talk only about the spiritual principles that led to this situation.

So the spiritual principles I referring to are those which lead to a fall from relationship with God. It all starts with rebellion, with doing what you know is wrong, and continuing in it despite being told. The other principle is that sexual relationships are a joining of body and soul, you become one with the other and thus take on their issues. When you’ve been delivered of demonic forces in your life and then decide to willingly continue in sin you open the door back up for those forces to return. Jesus explained this in Mathew 12:43 "When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first.

We’ve watched in sorrow as this friend went downhill. She puts on a big front with those in church, hiding what she does in darkness, and impressing them with her spirituality. Deception is normal in her speech now, and we are seeing the fruits of her words and actions, seeing it in the lives of those she touches, who’s situations are made worse from her attempts to help. I tried to warn her but it was not received, and now some see me as not speaking the truth. I’ve not been allowed by God to speak up on it, and must wait till all comes out into the light God shines on all darkness.

2 Peter 2:20 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. 22 Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit," and, "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud."

We love our friend, and I certainly have no room to judge anyone. Lord knows I've returned to my vomit before. But God has been merciful and restored me, when I repented. What we want is the best for her and will be glad to help her pick up the pieces, should she be willing to let us. It's been strained ever since I tried to warn her, to tell her what God had revealed to me. Knowing I know the truth she has avoided all contact like the plague, fearing I will reveal the truth. I don't have to, God will.