Songs of Experience

The poet William Blake, an English Romanticist, thought there were two states of the mind, "Innocence" and "Experience". The former was characterized by a love for all mankind and a general rosy happy outlook, and unquestioned faith. The latter was characterized by despair, despair, and more despair over the true state of humanity, with no view of any way out. The highest state of the mind was "Organized Innocence". He thought it was when one has sees how horrible humans can be but knows they are all ultimately noble, amazing creatures who are just wonderful and all that. Maybe I'm not remembering it exactly right, but that's the part I can recall about it.

I give him the first two states. I've experienced them. But the third state? I personally believe in "Enlightened Innocence". One has seen the world and how horrible it can be, but then one sees that there is still light, and that light comes from God. He is hope, purity, truth, joy, all the things that seem missing from so much of the world today. He is beauty, laughter, our saving grace. So, while we may despair at the state of humanity, there is a way of escaping this fallen world. Well, not exactly escaping, but of having hope. HOORAh! :)

All that to say, my heart is hurting. It always aches whenever I hear news of a child being killed, kidnapped, hurt, dying because of the many horrible things that can hurt such fragile beings. I praise God for the rescue of Ben Ownby and Shawn Hornbeck, but I still just hurt, especially for Shawn. I can't imagine either of my brothers being taken from me, not knowing whether they were alive or dead for so many years, not knowing what they were suffering. It just makes me want to rip my heart out or something. I just don't understand why such things happen, why such evil, evil men exist. I know all have sinned, all have fallen, and it is only God's grace that keeps the world from being as awful as it could be, but things like that just HURT. The world just seems so dark at times.

There is light, though, and hope. I see it everyday in the blessings God gives, the way He uses bad things for good, the peace He gives me even as the world is filled with chaos. "Pampered, born with a silver spoon in her mouth," some might say. "Stupid, unthinking, silly airhead," others. Whate'er, whate'er. I have had hard times, and I do think, almost too much, and through everything I've seen these things to be true. I've got peace like a river...

The world is a big, scary place. I am glad I serve omnipotent, omnipresent, good, and loving God.