God speaks in very direct ways. Christianity has always used intermediaries such as Priests for confession (this is a tool, we believe, that is used to release a source of conflict or quilt that an individual may be carrying), and the Priest 'forgives' the individual if their repentance is sincere. The Priest himself, not having any power other than what the individual gives to them or assigns them through their personal belief system, is a tangible representation of the Divine that the individual can relate to. Or in Judaism, it is the Rabbi who hears the penitence list of an individual before they die and are intermediaries as they are representational embodiments of Divine Knowledge that can comfort those who seek atonement. It is through others that we often find comfort. And the reason people seek intermediaries is that they do not want to be alone during difficult times. All people share the same desire for acceptance, love and forgiveness as any other individual. No one can understand God's ways or interpret God's thoughts. God is all knowing and all seeing. We here on this mortal plane are not.

All we can do is speculate and take our best guess at what Biblical scripture or Torah means. Humankind has studied, translated and discussed the meanings of scripture since the beginning of written or transcribed scripture. All we can do is find the meaning that we can most closely relate to and then try to apply it as best we can to any given situation in our life.

I am going to speak about the quote:

Reverence for scripture and God's word is the beginning of wisdom and the path to wellness achieved through increased awareness. If there is no knowledge of scripture then there can be no understanding. Knowledge is the ability to perceive the reasoning and logic behind information. Understanding is the ability to reason and deduce one fact from another and realize that truth is usually somewhere in the middle. This type of deduction is not based solely on logical reason, but on intuition and experience. And experience is gleaned by living life.

One of my favorite people and role models is a woman who lives on our lane up in the North Country. She lived on the lane before any other homes, before modernization and school buses. Now, up north, we get snow and I do mean snow which also means power outages and below zero temperatures. Years ago there was limited access to the comforts we have today. Living through those times, this woman has survived a lot, including the death of a son. Imagine losing a child. How inconsolable.

I know some rather 'famous' or 'infamous' people, and live around a few of them and have run into several celebrities in the area I live. The movie-people kind. One Oscar winner recently moved into the area and frequents our Starbuck's and small restaurants. Another fellow has done film, was on Broadway and also in the London revival of a Broadway play and you can run into him at the local Super Stop and Shop.

Everyone knows someone. And everyone is someone, at least here in New England. And on and on and on. Boring. For me, personally, it comes down to what we do with our life in service for others. Do we seek to be flattered and fawned upon, or do we realize our blessings, or role up our sleeves and do 'good' service for others? How many of us get beyond who we think we are and what we think we are due, finally coming to the point where there is realization that you can only own so many houses, have so many assistants and travel to so many vacation spots when there are issues like HIV, AIDS, hunger, famine, lack of potable water, homelessness and death all about us each day.

This gal up north is my kind of celebrity. I've been going up north for about twenty-five years and have some really long termed relationships. But we all keep our private life just that, private. We New Englanders are really good at keeping each other's secrets. Now this gal has survived life and wears it upon her face like a light which radiates God's own grace. Not too long ago I fell twenty feet off my roof. I was banged up, sore, bruised, fractured and laid up. Neighbors finished my roof and stopped by often. Robin, who owns the local store, frequently sent food over. My dear friend, Betty, came over and checked in on me from time to time and we would talk. She told me the story of how she lost her son. It was painfully sad, heartachingly so. She told me about the anger, the suffering, the sleeplessness. Then she told me about the local Priest who came up an talked to her. He said to her, "You know, Betty, His ways our not our ways."

She shared how that just struck home with her. How could any of us understand God's ways. How could we know what God had planned and why He plans these things. How could we, mortals, who live on the ground and go about life view our lives from God's all seeing position. How many of us fail to see beyond where we are and the blessings we have? When she shared this with me I felt something release inside me. It made sense.

I think Betty is an Oscar winner. I think she is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. She wears time well and has lived a life she gives thanks for. No matter how cold it got on the lane during those long winters, no matter the life challenges (she has survived a couple of bouts with Cancer, some years ago), no matter the loss (the loss of a son), Betty knows God and believes in His plan of perfection. She helped me heal and she has helped my soul heal and taught me to remember to forgive in the process. Indeed this is one of my role models.

I have seen a lot of death. I have been with people who I have loved greatly when they died. I have seen people die of many illnesses ranging from Cancer to HIV. I have seen some pass quickly and I have been by the side of some when they have died hard and suffered long.

What I can tell you, is that no matter what they say when they are dying, or what they have done, they all have come to God toward the end. I have known people who were filled with anger, lack of forgiveness, and they said time and time again that they really didn't need to go to church or practice their faith. And when death came they were afraid. Some came to their transition with rigid knee which God bent, in His way, and when they finally came to God they found peace. A real peace that you can see on them. Sometimes it is an unspoken peace but it is there. I think there is a need for confession. You know the old saying, "Confession is good for the soul." I think that the last rights (a term I do not like as it really isn't all that affirming of a positive transition process) is as much a part of life as is being born. It is really important. It is a cleansing process.

If you have the means then 'treat yourself well' now, for death comes too soon to all of us. Do not hoard or covet money. How much can you really spend? A person should spend part of their moneys and personal-time on mitzvos, or good deeds and charitable acts, treating themselves well in a spiritual sense, because they may die sooner than they think, not having had the honor of bettering another's life.

In Isaiah 59:1, it says "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it can not hear," meaning when you, the individual, comes to God, even in your mind or soul He will reach back and lift you up.

It means that comfort can found for the asking and even if you whisper He will hear you. Many times, and it is my personal and only my personal experience, we sometimes forget God. With the increased amounts of time spent on work, stress, schedules and daily demands is it unreasonable to think that time passes and we forget, we just forget? A time comes to remember. Like with all children there is an intrinsic self haunting when we stray to far from our roots and with time we return to what was familiar. No matter how good or bad, it is the soil we sprang up from and we need to address those issues and release them or celebrate them. What matters is how you come to your realization, how you get to the end and in the end what you want your story to say. The life you live has a lot to do with who you will become, the summation of your experiences and the death you will experience alone with God. For when you are born it is highly individualized and isolated. It is your coming into the world and when you die it is highly individualized and isolated, for it is you leaving.

As I have said, one of our favorite scriptures is Isaiah 55:8-9, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,' says the Lord. 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts,'" meaning that we cannot view death or any other thing, or any aspect of our life through God's eyes. Our feelings and reactions are through our mortal eyes which are tied to our emotions.

Does this mean anything more or less than what we experience through our emotion? Of course not. But what it does mean is that God's thoughts are not our thoughts for His thoughts are pure, all knowing and all seeing. Ours simply cannot be.

It means that God, being in His position, in Heaven and all-knowing, can see the big picture when all we see is the fixed moment of the experience. God's ways are higher as they are planned and known to Him and are part of His greater plan, whatever that may be.

We simply cannot know as we are fixed people with finite lives that will live and die. And when we face death it is important that we mourn. Weep and release from your soul the sadness, but do not mourn excessively as this is self indulgent. They must rest and do so in peace. When a family member dies the entire family has cause for concern and mourning will gradually decrease through time and the loss will become easier for the survivors to understand and release.

God will see generations beyond and we have to have faith in Him during these difficult times, faith that we are connected to the source of our very origins whereupon that time of our death, or rebirth, we will be reunited with ALL those that we love and that we are connected to. It is that very wholeness that keeps us connected to each other throughout life and after death and the change from a mortal manifestation to a spiritual manifestation that will be reborn.

Betty found comfort in His word and so have I. She taught me His word through her experience. This is the greatest gift and tithe of all, to share our life experiences with another in order to 'better' their experiences. They have been truthful words for me in my times of despair and God, my life partner, God, your life partner, Our shared God is always there to lean on. He is always there and hears even a whisper.

He is the parent who loves, the parent who takes pain away, the parent who reaches back when we, his children, reach out. It may not be in the manner we want but like with all parents who truly love their children, they may not be able to give them what they want when they want it. For it is for their own good the parent does not always give them their way.

When you are born you experience this in an isolated manner, being pushed out into the world screaming with your hands extended crying for all to hear, announcing you are here and this is your life. God alone is there. And in the end when you transition and die the process is reversed. You will withdraw, become tired and knowing your journey is ending you will review your life. You will come to know that like in the beginning, God will be with you during this isolate experience that no one else but you can go through. Find comfort knowing that God is there as He has always been. All you have to do is whisper for you come into this world with God and you will leave this world with God. Allow yourself the time to heal, to forgive and to love. And think about how you want to live your life, for His ways are not necessarily our ways.