Ghosts

 I know that most people don’t believe in ghosts, but I’m going to tell you a couple of true experiences that happened to me. Then I’m going to ask some questions.

First true story. Our first daughter was less than a year old. We were living in a house that had been in my husbands family many years earlier. 

It was a cute farmhouse, but it was so old that someone had added a hall that went from the main house to the kitchen. The only closet with any size was in that hall. 

I had set up our silverware, etc and displayed our wedding glasses, etc on a shelf. I thought it was pleasant. 

My husband was working days and I was working nights so we kept our daughter at home.  

One morning I was awakened by a crash. Talk about scary! I made my way to the sound. It had come from the kitchen. 

I thought “what in the world could happen in this kitchen?” There was only the one shelf that held wedding mementos.  I opened the door and the shelf had fallen. Here’s the kicker. Everything that had my name on it crashed to the floor and shattered.  Anything with his name on it seemed to magically still be on the shelf. 

I wasn’t afraid. I didn’t scream for Jesus , I laughed, got the broom and cleaned it up. 

Years later we lived in another house that had been in my husbands family. This was an older farmhouse. It had a fireplace in every room. I can’t tell you that I loved that house because it smelled like dog urine. Yep. 😑 But I did my best. I cleaned the carpet thoroughly, still the smell would return. That’s not the ghost encounter by the way. That was free I information 

We had returned from the hospital in Washington DC where I had too many surgeries to count (well. 15, but who’s counting)

One day my family had gone shopping and I was there by myself. I had hung one of my favorite mirrors in the bedroom. I have an odd collection of interesting mirrors.  “You’re so vain. You probably think this song is about you “ Carly Simon. No that wasn’t why. I just liked the shapes and textures of the frames. 

So, as I was laying in bed recovering that mirror flew off the wall and landed in the hall. Nothing else moved. This is what I did. I got mad. I picked up the mirror and put it back on the wall. I said, “Oh no you don’t! I live here now!” Nothing ever happened in that house again. 

Those are absolutely true stories. I wasn’t spooked and didn’t feel the need to “rebuke the devil” . I just took back my space. 

Those stories don’t fit most theology, but I knew that the greater one (Jesus) lived in me and I lived in those places so no demon in hell had authority to live there. 

“Greater is He that’s in me than he that’s in the world “ look it up.   King James Version. The world includes all worlds. 

I can not say that I was super brave or spiritual.  I’ve dealt with true evil in my life and trust me I wasn’t always that brave.  FYI I am not bragging on me or daring the devil to challenge me. Im just telling you my experience.

Now for my question to you. How many ghosts have you dealt with? Do you realize that every unpleasant experience you’ve had still lives in your memory? They are ghosts of your past. 

I’ve bern talks to the Lord about this. How many ghosts have I let keep me in the past?  I’ve had so many experiences that shaped my view about people, church, family, dysfunction..  the list goes on. 

When something in the present brings up something of the past I call it a ghost. I’ve let ghosts rule my life for years. My thinking was “that’s my proof”,  “there’s my evidence” , “ I knew that was too good to be true!”  Ghost stories!  I had the mindset that if I “forgave” then things would change. Don’t expect bad things to happen or they will. If you put out the wrong vibes you draw there things to you. It all sounded so spiritual and “my fault “.  

I started realizing that bad things happen to good people and no matter how much I forgave, that ghost was still my reference for the present .  Do you do that?

It’s really hard to get rid of those ghosts when they come at you from every side. When you link every “now “ situation to the past you are resurrecting that event. 

I know “how do I prevent that from happening?” “ Sometimes I just “feel like “ things are going to be the same. Sometimes they are. BUT will you let those negative experiences rule your life?

This is not a testimony, it’s an admission.  I have had many situations in my life repeat. It’s maddening! I started thinking “what am I doing to cause this?” I mean, I must be in charge, right? Nope. 

Here are some lessons I’ve learned along the way. Ok. This is difficult.  Some of the worst people experiences I’ve had have been in church. Shocking, right?  I would go back and hope to find “real” people that lived what they believed and didn’t preach or expect perfection,  That is a set up for failure. Nobody is perfect, I don’t expect that, but very few “church people “ are real. 

I decided to look for flawed people. Yep, people like me who knew their flaws and weren’t religiously trying to fix themselves or me.  

I’ve had recent experiences with awesome flawed people. I don’t try to fix them and they don’t try to fix me. We don’t agree on everything! That’s the best kind of relationship.  I was looking for people that I saw myself in. Uh oh. I didn’t realize that I was “ playing” the perfect game. I thought I was being “real about my faith”. 

I’ve since discovered that God loves flawed people that know they’re flawed. To be flawed is not a sin, it’s human. 

To wrap this up let me give you a couple of ghost stories. I live in a very nice community.  My process of thinking was “you seem nice. You’re acting nice. But when is the other shoe going to drop? When am I going to meet the familiar “ghost” in you?

In the past 9 months I’ve waited for the ghosts to come out. Here’s the thing. I finally realized that my vision of now was clouded by a repetitious past. 

I’ve seen God give me random acts of kindness through strangers. It floors me. The “strangers” in my life now have no reason to be kind to me. There’s nothing I can give them to repay their kindness. They don’t force their ghosts on me and I don’t force my ghosts on them. I do have to say that one person tries to force vegetables on me… lol. 

There are some people who live in their “ perfect “ worlds. To those people I am kind and genuine. But I will not be offended by the ghosts of the past that cause me to be afraid. 

I haven’t conquered every ghost yet. I never will. But my vision of now is much clearer as I’ve understood that the past has patterns that repeat, but not everyone is guilty of repeating the behavior that had hurt me. 

I encourage you to list your ghosts.  1) Divorce 2) Liars and cheats. 3) Fake religious people .  Etc. How have these ghosts of the past affected your now? Are you looking for the familiarity of the past? Can you see past what you’ve experienced? 

Face your ghosts. I dare you!