"And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
. . .
And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
. . .
And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
. . .
And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth."
Revelation 12:1, 6, 14, 16
Okay, so this is Revelations... don't stress if you don't get it. :) I definitely don't. Anyway, this might seem a little surreal, but bear with me. I'm sure this chapter says a lot about the end of the world and it has layers and layers of symbolic things, but I wanted to focus on the woman. :) This almost sounds like a native American story, doesn't it? Or even something you read in your Greek or Roman mythology book... and so I wanted to talk about it as a story, and a story of our lives in a way. I’ve talked about it before, that we are the hero of our stories, and a happy ending is guaranteed if we don't stop reading. :) That's the way it is with this woman. She is obviously a hero or goddess of some sort... clothed with the sun. Outshining everything, just like any mythological hero worth his mettle (what is mettle, by the way?) Anyway, she is amazing, and magical, and there are obviously powerful forces fighting against her... but also working for her in the story. Nature and the earth actually fight on her side... she has her life spared many times, a sanctuary in the wilderness, she is given wings... the earth saves her.
Now, whether we take this as being symbolic of a divine mother, the church, or ourselves individually... the story is the same. The hero wins. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Forces that were beyond her power to stop were fighting against her... and so the author of all things had to step in and make the very forces of nature protect her. He gave her wings so that she could fly; the earth saved her from a flood she couldn't possibly survive. Right when there seemed no way out for our hero, she is saved again... given the power to overcome some obstacles and given powerful friends to help her through the rest of them. This is happening to each of us in our lives. We have the power to fight the forces of evil, and when we get to the point where we can't do it anymore, God will give us a sanctuary from the storm for a while... or wings to fly... or the very earth beneath our feet will help us.
God is helping us every minute of every day... in stories and in our lives. In nature and in our homes. We just have to open our eyes to see, and open our ears to hear. Miracles are everywhere, and when we can't walk anymore, he will help us fly.
. . .
And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
. . .
And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
. . .
And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth."
Revelation 12:1, 6, 14, 16
Okay, so this is Revelations... don't stress if you don't get it. :) I definitely don't. Anyway, this might seem a little surreal, but bear with me. I'm sure this chapter says a lot about the end of the world and it has layers and layers of symbolic things, but I wanted to focus on the woman. :) This almost sounds like a native American story, doesn't it? Or even something you read in your Greek or Roman mythology book... and so I wanted to talk about it as a story, and a story of our lives in a way. I’ve talked about it before, that we are the hero of our stories, and a happy ending is guaranteed if we don't stop reading. :) That's the way it is with this woman. She is obviously a hero or goddess of some sort... clothed with the sun. Outshining everything, just like any mythological hero worth his mettle (what is mettle, by the way?) Anyway, she is amazing, and magical, and there are obviously powerful forces fighting against her... but also working for her in the story. Nature and the earth actually fight on her side... she has her life spared many times, a sanctuary in the wilderness, she is given wings... the earth saves her.
Now, whether we take this as being symbolic of a divine mother, the church, or ourselves individually... the story is the same. The hero wins. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Forces that were beyond her power to stop were fighting against her... and so the author of all things had to step in and make the very forces of nature protect her. He gave her wings so that she could fly; the earth saved her from a flood she couldn't possibly survive. Right when there seemed no way out for our hero, she is saved again... given the power to overcome some obstacles and given powerful friends to help her through the rest of them. This is happening to each of us in our lives. We have the power to fight the forces of evil, and when we get to the point where we can't do it anymore, God will give us a sanctuary from the storm for a while... or wings to fly... or the very earth beneath our feet will help us.
God is helping us every minute of every day... in stories and in our lives. In nature and in our homes. We just have to open our eyes to see, and open our ears to hear. Miracles are everywhere, and when we can't walk anymore, he will help us fly.
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