When we decide to let go of God’s hand and rather let Him take hold of ours a seemingly unnatural occurrence takes place deep in our soul. The flow of our spirit comes to rest and eventually begins to flow in the opposite direction. Picture swimming upstream all our life; suddenly you realize it’s the wrong way and you stop. You then reverse course and begin to flow effortlessly downstream. That’s exactly what’s happened at this point in your spiritual quest towards truth and peace.  You are reversing the flow! Make no mistake. This is a huge step in the journey from the Wasteland to the Garden as it unusually comes with its fill of trials, tribulations and persecution.  You see, when we reverse the flow in our lives we begin to head in the opposite direction of the world and straight towards a wall of resistance. Why? Because the world doesn’t want you to reverse the flow and escape its grasps, and system of thought, being and control. Rather it wants all of you and nothing less.  Its warning is clear; go along to get along, or else!

But our souls weren’t meant to be bound and oppressed.  Rather, they are meant for liberty and communion with its Creator. Isn’t that why Jesus died after all; to give us back our lives to live in freedom and experience true joy with God in the Garden,

Earlier this year I read a quote from C.S. Lewis that read, “When the whole world is running towards a cliff, he who is running in the opposite direction appears to have lost his mind.” Wow!!! I couldn’t have said it better! That’s exactly what I’m talking about. When you decide to leave the Wasteland and its lies and pursue the Garden and its truth you will be perceived, at a minimum, as one who has lost his or her mind. You’ll likely hear things like, “Who do you think you are!” “You just think you are better than everyone else!” “That’s not how the world operates!” and of course, “You’ve lost your mind!” But fret not, those words are actually confirmation that you have reversed the flow and are now on the right path leading to your Garden home!

On a personal note, that is exactly what happened to me midway into my seven-year journey from the Wasteland to the Garden. Sitting alone one day reflecting on what it meant to reverse the flow in my life I discovered that how God values life and our place in it is very different, and in some cases, polar opposite from how the world perceives it.  It was as if a light bulb had come on in my soul.  It was a spiritual eureka moment!  My mind began to flood with scriptures that illustrated this truth – “We must decrease so Christ can increase”; “Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it”! It finally hit me. Reversing the flow means running towards and following God in every facet of life. No matter what the world says. No matter how much resistance comes our way.  Deep down, it is being less of our selfish selves, so God can be more of his self-less self!

That is the basic truth that I think is most needed and relevant in today’s world.  When you begin to move in the opposite direction of the world and realize that your life is no longer yours but rather belongs to Christ, your fear of all things, including pandemics, including death begins to fade. Fear can no longer rule the day because you are now liberated from the shackles that once bound you and are permanently held close within the grasp of a Loving All Powerful God.

So I’ll end this blog with how I started my first. There is HOPE! It’s 2020 vision and it is rooted in God Himself.! So, continue on your journey towards the Garden and remember that reversing the flow doesn’t mean going backwards; it means going forward!

Dario L. Perla