Why does Jesus make cactus hurt?

I was really confused when I heard the little 4 year old boy at the ymca ask his Daddy, "why does Jesus make cactus hurt?" The little boy carried himself with such a sweet spirit. He was innocently and intelligently asking a question that was way beyond his years. The question seemed simple, but the boy was obviously one that caught my attention. There are a few kids that stand out to me. He was one. By this little boy opening his mouth with one little question, he has made me think about him and his sweet smile for days...

That little boy didn't know it; but, his simple words blessed me at just the right time.I told Payshance what the boy said and she immediately told me, "water". Ok, so here are two children answering a question that I ask myself often. Why is there so much pain in this world? Why are people so mean? Why do people steal? Why don't people just tell the truth?

If you think about it, there are alot of things in this world that are able to be open and closed. Mouths, Eyes, Arms, Doors, Windows, etc. The list goes on. Before our birth, we were all sealed in our Mother's womb with all that water surrounding us. Why? To shelter us from the harshness of this cruel world. We weren't meant to stay there though, were we??? If we didn't ever make it out of the womb, we would have never known or felt the blessings such as other people, fresh air, and sunshine. We also would have never know of such annoyances as pain, bugs, loss, betrayal, etc. Worst of all, people would have never known us.

We open our mouths when we want to be heard, our eyes when we want to see, we open house doors to let people in or go out, We lock the doors and close our eyes when it's time to rest and try to be in peace. We open windows to experience the pleasant things of the outside world, you know, sunshine, fresh air, etc. We close those when the bugs and ugly things of the world try to come in.

Have you ever been in a dream and you try to wake up and force your eyes open, and then the dream continues and you think you're awake but you're really not? Then you open your eyes and realize that it was all a dream? I remember having that a couple of times in my life. The feeling when I truly woke up was so irritating because I felt like I was almost betrayed by my brain for not waking up when I wanted it to; and, I was almost angry because I was not in control of that situation, that dream. The only times that happened was when the dream was bad. I wanted to open my eyes. I wanted to see the light. We open our eyes when we come into this world to see what's around us... other wise we would always be sleeping. That would be pretty boring.

Doors and windows are made to be opened and closed. We open doors & windows to let people in, fresh air in, you know, the good things in life. We close them when people leave, when we get tired or uncomfortable. It's our choice if we stay inside, leave them open, open them again to the same elements, or close and lock them temporarily or forever. Sometimes we use screens to filter out the bugs or the things that get annoying. They're mainly annoying; but, sometimes deadly. We usually lock everything up when it's time to be sheltered from all the cruel things in the world.

We open our arms when we need a hug or when someone else needs one. We close them when we need to protect our heart. All of us do it sometimes, it's human and what helps us learn when to close and open them. There's only one person whose arms are always open, God's. That's how we know open things are a blessing. He lets us come and go as we please. He wants us to learn. We can always crawl back into that safe place in his arms when we are ready. He doesn't force us. He just loves us unconditionally and leaves them open so we can end up back there when we need a hug most.

Not only does staying inside protect us from the world; but, it also shelters us from sharing the gifts God gave us; consequently, we keep ourself from blessing those around us. Inside the cactus lies the water that many lives have been saved from when they were lost in the desert... although the things that we enjoy such as fresh air and sunshine are so readily available, we find that what inside is where we find the necesseties of life.

Just like we weren't meant to stay in our mother's wombs, we aren't meant to always close our arms and protect our hearts, and the cactus wasn't meant to just stay in the desert and hurt people with it's thorns. It has a purpose just like everyone else. If the cactus didn't allow itself to be opened, many lives would have died in deserts of dehydration. It only reminds me that we have to cut through the uncomfortable things and thorns in life to be able to be blessed by what's on the outside. Inside those things that hurt and immobilize us lie some of the biggest blessings; but, we'll never appreciated them if we don't explore the outside and all the elements.

As much as I'd like, I'd love to lock my heart in the treasure chest that it deserves to keep it from being hurt by all the things that have and probably will hurt it. I'd take a a bible, my kids, a cactus (without the thorns), and my heart and lock them up with me 4ever. I guess that wasn't God's plan for the cactus cuz it can't live without sunshine and it wasn't his plan for me either. I'm destined to keep floating in and out of my personal treasure chest/God's arms until my chest is buried and his arms are closed hopefully hugging me forever. It's a must to come out so that I can bless others and I can learn from my endlist list of mistakes in my life.

A friend of mine once told me, "Nay, Nay. You have to share, that's how he gives us our blessings." I'm so scared of not being in control of my heart being hurt, I've been looking for the the key to that open treasure chest so that I'm the one in control of who goes in and out. :-( That key is in God's hands, not mine. I just realized I've been trying to take it from him. How dumb can I be. He knows when i need to hide in his arms. He knows when the treasure chest needs to be closed. He knows who to let in. He knows when I need out and when I need it to be closed. He's in control so I don't have to be. No human holds that key. No one.

I'm so relieved.

God bless... :-)