Gloria:
Dear God, Lauren is better. Thank You.
God:
She was never ill. Only her body seemed so. You were focused on that. Prayer brought your focus to Me rather than to body.
Gloria:
Dear God, in an earlier letter from Abby, she wrote: "I guess when I write to God, my focus is on God and I can be non-judgmental then."
So turning to you is getting pulled out of judgment.
God:
You cannot engage with Me and judgment. I am the Remover of Judgment. No effort. No strain. Join with Me, and there is instant relief from judgment.
Gloria:
I wonder, dear God, is depression a result of judgment? If I didn't judge that things are going badly, would I ever feel down-hearted? Do I get depressed, not because of what happens, but because of my appraisal of what happens?
God:
You are beginning to get it.
You have been "hit" with quite a few things lately, and you think that perhaps I am not with you. You don't know if these are lessons or tests or what. Let it occur to you that they are blessings. What if what you see as obstacles are really the parting of waters? What if what you see as obstacles are really openings? What if they are really doors opening rather than doors closing?
What if what you are seeing now really means you have clearer vision? What if what you see as hurdles really means you are over a hump? Over a hump of lethargy perhaps, over a hump of non-seeing. What if what happens that you are uncomfortable with is really there to open your eyes?
Gloria:
Dear God, it feels that my eyes are more opened to the relative but less to You. Heaven Association is running into obstacles with the IRS about gaining federal non-profit status. There is a fine lady from the IRS who called me. She understands the purpose of what we are doing. She knows we are heart-motivated, but the structure doesn't fit their guidelines. She is trying to help us become non-profit, not stop us, but still it is hard.
One of her points is that I have to show what qualifies me to do Your work. My qualification is that You amazingly are having me take dictation for You, but that isn't part of IRS guidelines.
She said if Heaven were part of a recognized religion, that would help. If I gave talks in churches, that would help.
She also said that we have to give things away free. That we need to fund-raise, not charge. How much does it cost to email Heavenletters, she asked? The charge should be based on that.
But, God, I would not want to give it away just like that. Who would even value it then? I would love Heaven to be available in prisons and nursing homes etc.; that would be a different story. Also, I need some income. Heaven was not created for the purpose of supporting me, but I do need to live.
We have spent over $700 on this application process. Do we want to pay the accountant who doesn't believe in what we're doing hundreds more dollars that we don't have?
Are the obstacles something to surmount or a signal to let go? That's the question.
Dear God, I ask you with an open heart what Your Will is.
God:
My Will is that Heaven Association makes its own choices. Whatever umbrella Heaven is under in the eyes of IRS, it is under My umbrella as well. You are under God's umbrella whatever the technical structure is.
Gloria:
Have I been trying to control too much and not bank on You enough?
God:
Gloria, you are always looking for some way to blame yourself. Look for ways to love yourself. This is about loving yourself and Me.
Gloria:
It seems to me that if I were asking You about this on someone else's behalf, a full flowing answer would come. But when I am involved, that kind of answer doesn't seem to come. Is it because I am involved?
God:
Your mind is too involved. You don't quite release the question to Me. You do release others' questions to Me.
Gloria:
I feel like I'm in a quagmire.
God:
Look into My eyes. Look higher. Release yourself to Me.
Gloria:
Dear God, all my life my family thought I wasn't realistic, and it's dawning on me that they were right.
God:
Look to your own vision. Keep your eyes high. March forth. Then the way becomes clear. Don't stop. If you stop, nothing is clear. Keep going forward and you will step into a clearing from which you can see the horizon.
* * *
Linda to Heavenletters:
Hello! I really enjoyed the question about "man's inhumanity to man" on May 29. I have asked myself this many a time. In fact, the day it came, I had spoken about this very subject with my husband. Although, to be sure, I still have questions about this aspect of life, I felt some peace when I read the response.