Lori, I think Paul, Peter, and Martin Luther King were no different than us in their internal battles, yet lived out their faith publically. I'm reminded that God looks at the heart, but calls for action. God help us all!

God bless you, too. I appreciate it!

Well, your mother and I have at least two things in common: we're mothers (duh) and my poetry was my private journal for most of my life. Thanks for the comment, Ray.

It's in the same catagory as God's grace towards us about everything.

Amen to that, Jane. In my book, Uncensored Prayer, I revealed a lot of personal things about myself that left me open to attack. Increasingly, my writing addresses discrimination based both on prejudice and ignorance. I have been on the receiving end of discrimination because of my addictions, clinical depression, views of God, sexual history, and age as a woman over fifty. So I have real empathy for all "Mike's". But I can be just as blind and/or intolerant to someone not like me, especially if they attack me. "Love your enemy" isn't one of my strongpoints. But God is working in me about that. My heart's desire is to treat people the way I want to be treated. To put that into practice takes more than heart. I need God's help and those of others to live like that.