Taphophobia

"It is a fact that once upon a time, before modern embalming techniques were in widespread use, people were found on rare occasions to have been buried alive. It's most likely, however, that 18th and 19th century horror stories involving premature burial were inspired by the medical discovery that victims of suffocation and drowning could be resuscitated — that, though they appeared dead, they really weren't. To say the least, this was a frightening realization for many people.

In any case, so strong was the fear of "precipitate interment" during the 19th century that some of the wealthier folk were known to stipulate in their wills that their coffins be outfitted with signaling devices ... just in case. "

Sometimes we humans bury ourselves alive. We take the past and shove it into the grave before it is ready to die. We hide it and cover it, six feet under, until it is silenced. And then someday...it starts to ring the bell. It signals our present back into our past and we start to uncover the truth.

And when we find it...

It is decapitated and rotting. It is falling apart---yet surviving. It was not ready to be dead...so now it lives. It lives in our hearts and our inmost being. We have tried to hide the past...and yet it is now uncovered.

So at this breaking point...
What will you do???

Will you put it to death and give it a proper burial?
Or
Will you let it drive you down to the depths of the grave?

Streetlamps 2

"Chapter II"
Same place. Same time. Same story---more defined.

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"Back on the porch last night I was reminded of the streetlamps that get in the way of seeing our Lord Jesus Christ. We have worldly struggles, sins, and temptations that block our view of the Heavenly lights.
But this time, it was different.

It was raining.
It was pouring.
It was dark.
I could not even see the streetlamps.

And I was reminded of myself."

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Streetlights block our view of God. And WE block our view of sin. We tell ourselves:

"I'm okay."

And we are sinners.

Sin DOES get in the way of viewing Jesus...but WE get in the way of seeing our wrongs. We must take off our masks, this rain, this darkness, that disfigures the sin to look like normality.

Sin LOOKS good.
Sin FEELS good.
Sin is WRONG.

And we must be big enough to unmask ourselves.

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"It stopped raining.
The darkness faded.
And the streetlamp was seen.
And shortly after, I looked pass the streetlamp...