Ruth to God:

Dear God, I need Your help in accepting that my grown son is doing self-destructive things which also hurt others, without judging him. Even though I trust in You, I still find myself worrying about him a lot and wondering whether there is something I could be doing besides praying.

When I speak to him I feel I don't know him, and he tells me that I've never understood him and that this is the source of his problems. I am so sad about all this and really feel stuck. I really need help.

Thank You. With love.

God to Ruth:

My dearest Ruth, when a child seems destructive to himself and hurtful to others, it is one of the hardest situations for a mother, for you love your child, and you care, and perhaps you are the only one to whom the welfare of your child matters. No matter what his age, no matter how hurtful, your desire is for his well-being. There is no question of that, dear Ruth.

At the same time, you also desire your well-being, and your sense of well-being could not maintain itself with the changes in your son's recent behavior. You cannot pretend or convince yourself that how he is conducting his life is in anyone's best interest, let alone his.

You are suddenly faced with what many parents have been faced with, whatever form it takes. Every mother of an unhappy child who drinks, takes drugs, eats the wrong things, breaks the law, beats his wife, keeps a messy house, sleeps around, has an illness and does not take care of himself and so on and so on, is irate, at a loss, and feels responsible.

In your case, your son even tells you you are responsible. You are such a responsible person, Ruth, that you would accept that responsibility except that you know better.

Your son is responsible for himself. Whatever he is acting out, he is acting out. You are not.

Whatever omissions or commissions of your mothering that your son sees, he is carrying them as his permission to be irresponsible. You are not. Your dear son has choices, and he is blaming you — at least to you — for the choices he makes, as if he has no choice. He is showing you the anger he holds for himself.

You are separate human beings. The cord is cut. You are no longer responsible for your son's actions, Ruth.

But this does not make your heart feel better because you are a mother, and your son is hurting.

You can never know the beginning or the ending of your son's path, nor does he. You cannot possibly see now what good can come of what your son is going through. From the human perspective, there is no answer to this, no solution, no beautiful horizon.

But know this, no matter how untimely, how untoward, how devastating his life appears, he is finding his way to Me. No matter how impossible that is to believe, that is the only thing you can know, My Ruth. The world says that people ruin their lives. No life is ruined. My vision extends far beyond what My children see.

Ruth, picture your son in My light. Picture your son's feelings and actions as you would like to see them, as you will at the end of all this. Keep your eyes on the brightness of his soul and let go of your attention on his present actions and how they hurt you, him, and others.

That is how you will get your energy out of all this. Your energy fuels your son. With the strength of your energy, he is stronger in his resolve. Remove your energy from him, and he will start to rise.

Turn your prayers to yourself, dear Ruth. Put your attention on your gaining peace of mind. Take your attention away from what you want for your son, because even wanting all good for him is control. Pray that My beloved daughter Ruth be relieved of feeling responsible for others. Pray to Me that you do not have to feel perfect. Pray to Me that you can even surrender your son to Me. Surrender your son to Me. Pray to Me that you can surrender yourself. Surrender yourself to Me.

Pray to Me that you stop feeling that the ship of life is yours to steer. Be an idle passenger in life, Ruth. Sit back. Let the sun shine on you. Dribble your hands in the water, and let Me steer while you watch the passing sights.

Keep your eyes on Me, dear Ruth. Keep your eyes off your son's troubles. Keep your heart on Me full-time and on nothing less. Your heart is good, Ruth. That is all you need to know.

Thank you for your trust in Me. Trust means that you relax.

Trust in your son's heart, dear Ruth. It will come back.

* * *

Janie to Heavenletters:

ahhhhhhh yesssss, the June 1 Heavenletter is just what I needed/wanted/really have been needing to hear/read! Thank you!

Tina to Heavenletters:

Hi, Gloria, Heaven, God. I love the Godwriting about honoring weeds (June 1 and 2).

I am blessed to live in a part of Pennsylvania that is somewhat overrun with wild roses. They are blooming now. The scent in utterly intoxicating! Wonderful weeds, these!

Gloria, I hear you as you write about IRS hassles! Many inalienable rights to life, liberty and happiness are now against the law. Certainly I am not free to live in spiritual community as I wish to, thanks to zoning laws. I was living illegally last year in order to be next to my own children! I'm glad the weeds are powerful enough testaments to life and freedom to prevail! Bloom baby, bloom! I'll pay for you to write and send God's messages no matter what the IRS has to say about it.

Funny thing about the timing of this. Yesterday, before I got to reading your IRS news, Diane and I were wondering whether or not we had been "had" by a door-to-door salesman. Supposedly, 35% percent of our purchase is tax deductable if we turn in the receipt at the end of the year. We each spent $70 for two quarts of cleaning solution concentrate. I was upset to look over my receipt carefully and see no mention of tax deductible status. I instantly swung from feeling like I made a contribution to a good cause to feeling like a totally gullible fool.

And then I came home to read about you and HEAVEN's threatened status! I'm sure some folks are suspicious of you, dear Gloria, and your relationship to God. I guess we think that we need the IRS stamp of authenticity to weed out the fakes. Control wreaking havoc with faith, and all because we give so much power to our fears.

I'm celebrating weeds today. I went outside with my two best wine glasses (given by my two favorite and deepest friends) - one in each hand - and toasted the gifts for my senses in the material world and the unseen spirit, love and light which make it all possible. I'm eating weeds (stinging nettles) for my lunch and enjoying the rose garden which flourishes beyond the edges of the lawn.

Love and gratitude for HEAVEN. And remember the Boston Tea Party. Living life in spite of tax authorities is the cornerstone of our nation. If they were representing truth, they wouldn't need such punitive law enforcement backing them up, would they? I place my faith in God and HEAVEN and in Gloria's connection with both, as well as my own. Gloria, you have the choice whether to be guided by God or the IRS in the way you live and love your life. I think you can feel that it is a no-brainer.

Shine on.

Gloria to Tina and Heavenreaders:

Talk about timing. The same time this email arrived, a formal response from the IRS also arrived. Although they acknowledged Heaven's spirituality, they give Heaven 90 days from the date of their letter to describe Heaven activities in such a way that they can approve it.

Meanwhile, we are going ahead with an application for Corporation Sole, which is much simpler, and which also allows tax-exempt donations.

The letter said that, until further notice, Heaven can no longer say that contributions are tax-deductible, even though the State of Iowa granted us non-profit status. It is my understanding that what you have donated in the past is still considered tax-deductible. We'll keep you posted on all this.

Tina's letter made me laugh and laugh. Her nettle lunch, her two wine glasses, her Bloom, baby, bloom, the Boston Tea Party, Shine on etc. made my day beautiful.