Ask the Author: Question and Response
 

I am a 48 year old woman. My life is in turmoil, facing a divorce I do not want. Facing regret over many horrible mistakes I made. I am filled with fears and sadness.  I feel desperate and do not want to lose my husband.  I must face reality and am making a huge effort to place my faith in God and my Christian beliefs.   I decided to go on the internet this morning desperately looking for something to help me develop strength and courage.  Will this book help me develop faith in God and calm my fears regardless of my life circumstances?   Thank you.  

- Roseanne G.

My friend, all people, places and things offer you the opportunity to develop greater faith in God and calm your fears regarding your current circumstances. All people, places and things have been gifted to you by God. Yet, it is your free will that allows you to do what you want with them, to perceive them as you wish, and to react to them as you desire. If you can understand that the power to react to your life is yours - and yours alone, then you have won half the battle. And if getting half the battle won is more than you perceive yourself to now have, then you have gone far today. 

My friend, take care in the moment and the rest will take care of itself. Try doing something you may have never done before, instead of choosing to react to your current circumstances with turmoil, fear, sadness, and desperation - try offering gratitude for them. You have already tried it the old way and where has that gotten you? Invite Christ into your every moment, and see that moment as he would have you see it. The moments where the ego asks for judgment, choose not to follow its demand. Instead offer forgiveness. Where you once saw turmoil, now offer gratitude for the opportunity to learn a more peaceful way of relating to it. Where you once saw fear, now see it as a means to remember who stands with you and laugh the fear away. Where you once saw desperation, now sit in silence with closed eyes and offer it all to God. Offer it all to God and He will gladly take it from you. See it dissolving in His light, then invite His Light to fill all those areas where desperation was once entombed. For my friend, the more time you spend in gratitude, with Christ and God, in laughter and trust, the less time you will spend in moments of turmoil, fear, sadness, and desperation. They may still be the same moments, but you now have two choices of how you may react.

Trust God. Give Him 100% of your effort and then allow the chips to fall where they may. Spend a little more time with Christ, just you two together. Do not be afraid of Him or see yourself as not deserving of His time. Turn your phone off and pray from your heart. Do not attach yourself to any particular outcome, but instead ask Him for greater peace of mind and joy in your life. Offer Him all you do not want, and feel it dissolving in His light. Feel Him embracing you and understand that He is not there because you have called for Him but that He is there because He has never left you.

My friend, you can choose to have faith in your ego’s plan for your life or in God’s plan for your life. Understand that when you choose to have faith in your ego’s plan for your life - sadness, fear, desperation, stress and regret are its results. When you choose to have faith in God’s plan for your life - peace of mind, forgiveness, understanding and joy are its results. You have free will, thus you may choose as you will. When the Bible says “Thy will be done,” it is equally saying “may your highest will be done”. They are one and the same. His will for your life is your highest will for your life. A state of peace is the manifestation of this realization. When in the moment, you choose love over hate, forgiveness over judgment, trust over worry - you are following His will, your Highest will.

When you feel sad, do something that will help someone feel happy. When you feel lonely do something for someone that will make him or her feel less alone. When you are fearful, comfort someone who needs to be comforted. When you feel desperate look to bring peace into someone else’s life. When you feel sad find something, anything, to do that will bring happiness to someone else’s life. For my friend, you and your brother and sister are one and the same. And as you remember that your brother and sister are worthy of these actions, you will also be subconsciously reminding yourself that you are worthy of them, too.

My friend, you have a wonderful life ahead of you. The fog might be too thick for you to see and acknowledge this now, but it is so. Many people will come to assist you and you will, in turn, help many others who will one day need your help. Keep on strengthening your own self from the inside out and as you do, you will strengthen those around you. My friend, one day soon, you will stand up and acknowledge your strength and courage, and this realization and its manifestation will light the path for many people that you do not yet know.

My sister, you indeed have a wonderful life ahead of you.
 

View larger images of front & back cover 
of the great spiritual / self development book You Have Chosen to Remember: A Journey from Perception to Knowledge, Peace of Mind and Joy by James Blanchard Cisneros.