Gaslighting

 Good morning!

I’m sure you already know this, but I came across this word, "Gaslighting" lately. I’ve heard it, but never had given it much thought. Now that I have, I think I may be a victim.

When I asked Google, this is what she had to say (she tried to write this blog for me, but I told her gently and firmly to back off).  Anyway, determined to continue on my own, here's what I learned.

Gaslighting is a form of psychological abuse or manipulation in which the abuser attempts to sow self-doubt and confusion in the victim's mind. Typically, gaslighters are seeking to gain power and control over the other person, by distorting reality and forcing them to question their own judgment and intuition.

Does that sound familiar? I was thinking to myself, "This is a new thing"…  but wait, wasn't maybe Eve the first victim of gaslighting when Satan said, or should I say 'suggested' that she might be missing out on a fuller life by being 'restricted' by God's commands? 

And it looks like Eve just HAD to take Satan’s word on the subject; that she was indeed unfulfilled, and it was all … well … GOD’s fault! 

And the story goes on into a descending spiral until both she and Adam auger right into the ground. You can almost hear Eve’s growing excitement at this new revelation when, when asked if she REALLY was not supposed to eat that fruit, she raises the conversation a level when she adds, “That’s right! We’re not even supposed to TOUCH it!”

Now that I think of it, that last part about “touching” might have actually come from the lips of a serious-minded husband intent on getting the message across loud and clear… for all the good it did them. 

 I may be stretching the point, but I can’t help but recall that all-too-familiar word of advice in just about every Hallmark movie ever made. It usually comes from an older, wise person and it comes out something like, “Well dear, just follow your heart!” 

Now here I go, making that older wiser person into some kind of modern-day demonic serpent, which might be a bit over the top. But the messages are about the same, aren’t they? And whatever the wording, they always succeed in making my preacher husband cringe. “Emotions are the least dependable sense we have!” he moans.

I blame my age.  The commercials say I have forgotten to take care of myself.  The super glue people have packaged it in a 'one serve' tube, inferring to us that we're only capable of using it once.  KNOWING that every one of us was raised by depression era parents and will keep the unused portion for the next time, because 'you never know when you're going to need it again’. 

Unfortunately, most of us end up spending hours after the project is finished stuck to everything but the goal, wondering about our failing agility when working with only 3 fingers and one eye. 

I'm dreading facing my 75th birthday this year because here in Australia EVERY year from now on, I'll have to face a vision, health and COGNITION test on my birthday if I want to keep driving.  

I'm already doubting myself.  Tony tells me, in a condescending sort of 'big brother" way, that I better brush up on my memory skills like, "What comes after ‘Orange’ in that list of fruits I mentioned 5 minutes ago?" or “Please count backwards by 7 from 93.” That’s the kind of grilling I’m about to get from the doctor, he says.   

I guess my 'moral' to this story, is maybe if we stay in the WORD, and focused on HIM, we can remember who we are in HIS eyes, not having to rely on the observations of ourselves, our peers or some snake in the grass.

There are so many verses in the Bible that I will cling to ........ for example, Isaiah 46:4, “Even to your old age I am He, even when you turn gray I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.”

Or how about this one?   Psalm 73:26, “Though my flesh and my heart fail, God is the rock of my heart, my portion forever.”

You all have a great week, even as we will.  As Tony says so often in his sermons, "If you have a pulse, your purpose on this earth is not completed. So let’s  get busy!"

Marsha