Good day and May the Force be with you. I reflect in Illinois today. The past four years found me, family and ministries in North Carolina. There was a moment I wanted to become those proverbial "Jones," The idea in which we can focus on more of things than we would like. My own personal goal is to become more trustworthy and a bringer and keeper of things I sought after in my own path. (Insert Jedi Code here) My family was given an opportunity to travel to North Carolina for a hand at fortune and fame. The Grand Parents invited us to stay in a rental property they had. My family dynamic is different than most intentionally. We are Jedi. We study the "Huna" and I pass it along to my own family. We educate our children though home schooling. My wife and myself are both VETRAINS of the Armed Forces. Both of us were in the Army. As my family left North Carolina, the thought DID cross my mind, "It would be so much easier to just be normal and be like the Jones. It would be so much LESS of a hassle if we just settled down and quit our focus. I thought I should just quit all - this. For a split second I thought of being a Jones. What was the harm?
As the Ebb and Flow of life continues, I get to meet more and more Jedi face to face. There is this "presence" about every single one of y'all. It is like a glow or a HUE.
A rhinestone is an imitation of a jewel. If you place in a row one diamond and the rest rhinestones, by sight you may not be able to tell if there is a difference or not. That is until you look at it a bit longer and a pick it up. You can tell the difference. One of the things a Jedi strives for is to be the keepers and givers of peace love pardon faith hope light and joy. We look human because Jedi are human. We are never space cowboys or rangers with mystical powers. We have so much better than make-believe, the HUMAN POTENTIAL.
The human potential dwells in you. From one scope to the extreme and everywhere in between and back again. We share the struggle and the journey of life. Human development is amazing in any form. When seen with this HUE, we can find and define and even maintain a clear mind. We strive to be aware of future impacts and are wary of our own attachments. This is what we pass. Ideas can be like GEMS. Over time and pressure, a piece of mineral is crystalized, and a gem is formed. We take those and cut and polish them and they become valuable with all the time present in the gem.
During the course of life, we find our mind, spirit and body can grow. We can cultivate and develop many things. Life has a way of happening. It asks no one. Life happens to the living and present regardless of lot in life. Over time, there are some who find that which they seek, and then some. Some of us take more time than others. Some of us take the long way. Regardless of your place in your development, YOU ARE THE GEM. Today. We often use the Kyber crystal as a Jedi symbol.
Some of us are the Gem that you and time have created. Some of us are the diamonds in the coal. Some of us are the emeralds in the rock. Some of us are PEARLS of wisdom just waiting to be shared in places that are oddly not common for gems to be. The potential is always there. It is always present. A Jedi can share. Anyone can. Everyone does. We do as humans and as Jedi. It does cross my mind to quit a few things at times. Some days do get heavier than others.
Let it be temporary.
Do not stop, we are not some plastic versions of honor; or something made up as much as we can be a mantle of chivalry and a core of beliefs that can connect us to humanity. Let some things be temporary. Keep humanity alive. Keep going and do not catch the quit. Life won't quit- don't. You are more than enough. You are the GEM. Just thought you needed a reminder.
May the Force be with you
Pastor Carlos
