Without joy heart weighs a 100 kilos

May I share my "mini essay" on joy that I wrote for school today. I thought it suits perfectly for my blog. Now that winter is coming and we're between October and November at least here in the Northern side of the globe darkness arrives sooner and nature is less beautiful. For me personally winter is the most melancholic time of the year (but Christmas makes a difference) so it's time to look back for summer's memories. Anyway, let's have a look at my essay:

Joy. Where to find it? Does it come to our hearts like an unpredictable, playful cherub? Or does it grow little by little inside us like a balloon? But a balloon is easy to pierce and when the cold spike of sorrow and worries strikes, it strikes very hard. I know this myself, because I've had lately stress about money and success. About money and success...

That sounds very... businesswoman-like. As if our modern life was the exchange of Wall Street and our luck and joy were the market value varying at each time. Our life is a share. When our share shows plus our life is the Eden itself. In that case we have Joy in our hands: mammon. And why do we have it? Because we have success. How about when we have a long minus in front of our share? Then we don't have Joy and our hearts weigh 100 kilos. Yay, recession took our lives! Misfortune took our homes, our things, everything.

A little devil won the cherub: joy is now sorrow.

My first thought was:" Oh man, this is ridiculous! So funny." So joy exists anyway. Joy is goodness, joy is the cherub. It's not worldly but heavenly. It's not superficial but deep. The cherub lives in music, in good deeds... and in baby's giggle.

Have you found your cherub yet? Where does he/she lives? :)

God bless you!

Yesterday when I went to sleep after watching a blissful movie "The Book of Ruth: Journey of Faith", I felt peace and bliss... I felt so good at my heart and soul. Yesterday I also prayed and as my readers might know my life has been so much worries and struggles and it still is on this day. But suddenly... yesterday when I prayed I felt at my heart similar answers from God as 4 years ago when I chose Christ. The answer was:" You'll find peace soon, I'll lighten your burden." And then I cast another prayer, a grateful, happy one. But then in the morning that I woke up I felt like I just want to sleep and run away my worries in my dreams. I anyway got up and started my chores and I ended up doing a small good deed that put a smile on my face. And it wasn't long after that when I heard from radio Each Tear by one of my favourite r&b singers, Mary J. Blige. It's long time I haven't heard that song but when I heard it, peace that I reached yesterday evening returned to my heart and I started feeling bliss. I've been smiling from the inside since. I decided to upload Mary's newest music video for Each Tear sung with Jay Sean this year and it's available for watching below this post. I'm sure it's more than suitable to my today's subject and to my all Diary of Spiritual Growing, because the lyrics are about spiritual growing but also about self-esteem which is one of my blog labels. So enjoy and let this soft music bring you strength and belief through struggles if also you're facing them :).


Anyway, after realizing my bliss I thought what picture would describe my experience the best and I ended up chosing this oil originally painted by Paula Vaughan. I even thought what of my own writings from my upcoming poem and song book "The Rainbow of Tones" would describe my feelings the best. I chose "Blessed" from gospel/spiritual writings and I'll now present it for you:



Blessed



Bliss

is my feeling

in prayer's powerful healing

I felt it in depths of my heart

How Holy Ghost took all my body

It made me cry for joy

because God truly hears my voice

I'm one of Father's sheep, His choice



I'm blessed by forgiving love

that God sent me from heaven above

I feel myself so pure

Mercy made wounds of my heart cure

and I may rejoice as a child of light

My being is reborn in harmony and delight

'Cause my life has turned into bliss

My dreams are sealed by angel's kiss



God made my life

a sunshine

I'll be a mother and a wife

and all my being is smiling for feeling so fine

Christ, I met you in bread and wine

After all the struggle I've been through

I realize they were a blessing that led me closer to You

Oh, God I crossed my hands for everything true

And I found the greatest love of all

that will never let me break and fall

The Book of Ruth: Journey of Faith (2009)

I'll continue my "surprise series" once again by reviewing the newest Bible movie made in Hollywood. This movie is one of those adaptations wonderfully loyal to the original story told in the Bible. Directed by Stephen Patrick Walker he has managed to capture this story about tolerance, acceptance and being a refugee in a realistic way, being loyal to the circumstances of Antique. Themes of Ruth's story are always current today, because immigrants and refugees from Asia, Africa, Middle East and even Latin America have travelled to our countries with hope of having a new, better life... just like Ruth and Naomi wander from Moab's land back to Betlehem. They follow God's call to return home. There's a lot we can learn from Ruth's story and as I said many times before I've found anti-racism message from the Bible and the whole Book of Ruth is one of the best examples. The way Boas lets Ruth pick grain longer than his own workers, even to exceed her own need is maybe the most beautiful example of showing love and care for an immigrant.

The narrator of this movie of one and half hour is an old man (son of Ruth and Boas) who wants to tell a story of faith to a young boy and it makes the plot go easily. The movie is visually beautiful and like usually in the Bible movies the main characters are shown devoted and deep. The movie is emotional... there's time of tears, exorbitant sorrow and despair... even time of dishonesty and piety. But there's also time of encouragement, righteousness and bliss (and joking) and just like we've learned from the Bible: there's nothing stronger than love and it's deep and strong in this movie. I couldn't have chosen the actors and actresses better, because they're all brilliant and suit perfectly to their roles. They're depicted believably and they're modest and down-to-earth. The movie is so touching... I have experienced the same stages of faith in my journey of becoming Christian: first I had so much unbelief in my despair but after all my tears and losses God has promised to give me it all back as tenfold; the more we must suffer and have sorrow the more God has reserved bliss to our lives and it's one of the most important teachings of this movie. The way God answered to Naomi's devoted prayers after hard times, I've experienced the same hope in my life and realized that God is the best healer of broken heart. Touching piano composition of this movie has managed to capture the emotions of this movie in its soul. Orchestra is peaceful and restrained, not bombastic.

My final grade: A well-earned 10. One of my favourite Bible movies: this could become a classic.

Musical peacemaker of religions

According to my perception Felix Maria Woschek was born to German, Christian family. His spiritual music is one of the most touching ones I've ever heard. Why did I name him as a musical peacemaker of religions? Because he's famous for "unusually placing his music in the service of religious spirituality, but without favouring any one religion in the process". His musical genre is New Age but I absolutely love how religious his albums are: He sings Indian bhajanas and mantra songs of Jews and Sufi muslims. He has also made Gregorian chants in the pentatonic scale and as I said, Jewish songs and Islamic hymns. Because of his music's religious variety it could be soundtrack of my blog when opening the page, because I want to use God's word for increasing tolerance just like he does by his music. I love how he has sang also Old Testament psalms as Psalms are one of my favourite books of the Bible. He has been said to succeed in creating understanding between religions and in opening people's hearts towards other cultures.

He started singing as a child in Aachen's minister choir and that's how he found Western spiritual music. Singing the works of great masters and and the entire Gregorian liturgy made him a deep impression and he has described them as "mystical experiences". As a young boy he tried various genres of music from rock and blues to jazz. He even learned to play e-guitar that he still uses today with his music. But as 22-years-old he got so frustrated about "professional" music that he quit guitar playing, because he didn't find satisfying contents. After that he experienced a phase of serious illness and for a few years he struggled with life and death. In his quest for healing and recognition he went to India where he met Sathya Sai Baba. That was his first time of listening to Indian bhajanas and they touched him deeply. He bought an Indian reed organ and started singing these songs himself. This music healed him and that's how he found music again and since then he his only desire has been to make music of the heart. He's very talented as he does the graphic design of the albums himself and he composes and records all his pieces himself.

Album reviews


Shalom Salam Vol. 2 is inspired by violence and destruction between Jewish and Arabic people to create peace and understanding between the parties. His wife Elke and Persian Sufi and ney master Mohammad Eghbal together with a Jewish singer Rebecca Vilensky and drummer Raimund Engelhardt have joined him in the creative process of turning this precious piece of work into reality. Though finding peace between muslims and Jews is the main point of this album it begins with two traditional meditative mantras from Hinduism sung in Sanskrit ("Gurubandana" and "Shri Krishna"). Woschek has absolutely beautiful, peaceful, low and expressive singing voice. The sounds he creates with his instruments are simply heavenly. I have to say I love the sound of ney (sufi flute). He also uses acoustic and electric guitar, e-sitar, synthesizer, violin, setar and drums (daf, dirbuka and tabla). Also the vocals play an important role. Third song "Shalom Aleichem" contains a spoken part in Persian and then it continues with traditional Hebrew words and music from Israel. The next song "Allah huma salle Allah Mohammad" has traditional Arabic words and music from Sufi tradition. The fifth and sixth song "Hinneih Matov" with traditional Hebrew words and music is divided into parts I and II part I being the longer one. Woschek has highlighted quite much Judaism in this album as also track number 7 "Nigun" is Israeli with Chassidim words and music. The last song is once again from Sufi tradition sung in Arabic and it's called "Bismillah allhamdulillah La Illaha Illalla".

My final grade: A deserved 10, because at least to my own ears he sounds perfect and smooth together with his collaborating artists. Also the most important reason to give him this grade is his remarkable creative control on his work.

The both albums I've heard from him that I now review are inspiring. But I have to say that as a Christian the musical image that he has created of Christ in this Gospodi - the light of Christ album wakes up more conversation with the inner me. That's because this album isn't traditional Christian music. The first song is called "Gospodi - I am in the light" and it has taken its influences from Russian Orthodox Christian music and Gregorian singing. The piece starts with calm, floating Indian singing and sarangi-playing, the so-called Alap of the Indian Raga. He also uses the choir in this song to create an atmosphere of a cathedral and then there is this mystical-monotonous sound of the Sufi drum. The song is a Russian prayer "Gospodi pomilui - Lord, have mercy". For the compositions of this cd he has chosen the central mantras of Christian liturgy; the focal prayer "Lord, have mercy upon me - Christ have mercy upon me" is also "Kyrie eleyson - Christe eleyson" in Greek and he has used it in the third and last track of the album. In "Kyrie" he has taken influences from Catholic Gregorian liturgy. The second track of this album is a Hebrew mantra "Hallelujah". BUT despite that also this song has Orthodox influences but also the lightness of flute and dulcimer brings in the joy of Celtic bards. He writes that the pieces are deliberately long in order to create the space of necessary for achieving depth through the repetition of the mantras and for building up the godly energy.
All in all the instruments he used in this album are vocals, flute, acoustic and electric guitar, keyboards, tambura, sarangi, pacavaj - drum, hammer-dulcimer, soprano-saxophon and acoustic and electric bass. Once again all music is composed and arranged by Felix Maria Woschek himself.

My final grade: 10 -

Ofra Haza: Angel voice of Israel

Her biography


Famous for her beauty Ofra Haza is actually one of those few singers whose voice really deserve to be called as stunningly beautiful. Born on November 19 in 1957 and died on February 23 in 2000 for AIDS (in the age of 42) she was one of the most popular and appreciated Israeli female singers. Her voice has been described as mezzo-soprano, of near-flawless tonal quality, capable of lending itself to a variety of musical styles with apparent ease. Her genres are listed as World music, Pop, Ethnic electronica and Middle Eastern. The music fused elements of Eastern and Western instrumentation, orchestration and dance-beat. She became famous also in Europe and USA, earning many platinum and gold discs during her career. Her music was inspired by her Jewish culture and it somehow managed to bridge the divide between Israel and the Arab countries. She sang mainly in Hebrew and English but as she made a voice role in a children's Bible movie The Prince Of Egypt (1998) as the mother of Moses, she practised singing in various languages so she could sing the role in all international versions of the movie - even in the Finnish one! She was a great pride of many Israelis and during her career she wrote some of her songs herself.



She was the youngest child in the family of nine children born in the poor Tel Aviv neighbourhood of Hatikvah in 39 Boaz Street. Her parents were Yemenite Jews and she told herself that her childhood was filled with music and singing and a passion for traditional Yemenite songs, picked from her mother. At the age of twelve and one-half years Ofra joined a local theatre troupe, and manager Bezalel Aloni spotted her exceptional singing talent. He staged many of his productions around her as the centrepiece and later on became her longtime manager and mentor. At the age of 19, she was Israel's first pop princess. By the time she had completed her military service in 1979, she had matured as a singer and was ready to launch a solo carrer. On 15 July 1997 she married a businessman Doron Ashkenazi and they never had children together though she was claimed to love children (in 1982 she even published a collection of children's songs L'Yeladim).

Career tops



1982, L'Yeladim album collection of children's songs



1983, Eurovision Song Contest with a song Chai (Alive) she reached enormous popularity in Israel. Her album named the same Chai that year became her biggest-selling album to date.



1984, Yemenite songs album also known as Fifty Gates of wisdom in the USA and it quickly became one of her platinum albums.



1986, Yamin Nishbarim album became her most interesting work as she wrote deep and personal lyrics at first herself and it had edgy rock sound. The album became one of her various gold discs.



1988, her greatest international recognition came with the single Im Nin'Alu, taken from the album Shaday published the same year. The album won the New Music Award for Best International Album of the Year.



1989, album Desert Wind



1992, a Grammy nominated album Kirya



1997, her English language album Ofra Haza



1998, her voice role in children's Bible movie Prince of Egypt as Yochabed, mother of Moses in the song Deliver Us recorded in 17 languages.



Album review: Yemenite songs

Now I started one of my "surprise series" to make my blog more interesting. I'm going to review music that is either Christian or might be of interest for Christian listeners. I'll give grades to albums I listen from 4 to 10, which means 4 is the worst and 10 is the best. I chose to begin with Ofra Haza as she was from Holy Land, very remarkable and popular and I find listening to some of her songs like "Gabriel" (which isn't from this album though) recommendable, because Jews and Christians have common spiritual heritage. So for me listening to some of Ofra Haza's songs is almost like listening to gospel, because in some of her songs there's inspiration from the Bible (like in "Gabriel" and in her duet "Forgiveness" with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan). So before I'll move to actual Christian/gospel music, I'll present Ofra and one another Israeli artist...

Yemenite songs or Fifty Gates of Wisdom begins with her famous breakthrough song "Im Nin'Alu". When I heard two years ago only this song I found her music wonderful and brilliant. This album is sung in Hebrew, Aramaic and Arabic and the lyrics of the songs are as beautiful and ethereal as books of the Bible. The songs tell about God and love between man and woman. The songs are mainly created together with Rabbi Shalom Shabazi, but "Yachilvi Veyachali"
is a traditional song. Even handmark of Yemenite poet and singer Aharon Amram shows in some of the songs. Instruments used on this album are drums, congas, wooden and metal percussion, timbales, genuine Yemenite tin and tambala, double bass, strings, flute and piccolo, oboe and English horn, bassoon, clarinet and bass clarinet and French horn. This album has a strong, soft pop sound mixed together with ethnic sounds. I think the sound is very modern though mixed with traditions. Ofra's voice is beautiful and perfect. These songs are like stories... the composings wake up my imagination. The songs are joyful and uplifting. I highly recommend Ofra Haza for other believers as well, because she sings about the same God we believe in.

The final grade: 9 (because the album is otherwise great, but it has lack of artist's creative control)

OFRA HAZA's RECOMMENDABLE MUSIC VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE:

1. Im Nin'Alu Ofra Haza

2. Ofra Haza feat. Iggy Pop - Daw Da Hiya

3. Ofra Haza - Chai

4. Ofra Haza - The Prince of Egypt film clip - Deliver us

5. Ofra Haza - Forgiveness

6. Ofra Haza - Gabriel

7. Ofra Haza - Yad Anuga

8. Fighter - Ofra Haza

Where life begins

Dear readers. There's something I find myself often thinking. It has become my dream, something that I'm really longing for. It's also my passionate prayer when I'm really going through hard times. Even today I feel myself so tired... My heart is tired and it makes the power of my body drip vain as well. I want to go to sleep and see dreams of heaven. In my dream the spirit of Jesus embraces my spirit just like He embraces this young man at heaven's door in this picture.

I read in the summer a book called "Paradise Hyms" by Efraim Syrian and I found it too ethereal to describe. It was a description of heaven. I would write here all his main points but only one of them stood especially at my heart: He wrote in his book that what we lack on Earth we'll reach in heaven. The word of this prophet brought hope to my heart as I interpret his message like this: Here on Earth I'm carrying a burden of worries but in heaven I'll feel peace and happiness. Some days I'm really hungry but in heaven Jesus is the bread of life. Here on Earth I might feel loneliness but in heaven I'll be surrounded by other rescued spirits... and there are billions of them, more than human sense is capable to imagine. And here on Earth I'm struggling with a learning difficulty that might ruin my chances in this life; but in heaven I'll reach the state of heavenly wisdom. My physical body is stiff - I can't move it the way I want; but my spirit will be free to dance and do somersaults in heaven. And if I'm poor in this life I'll carry spiritual treasures with me in the next. And there life really begins. Our physical bodies will stay in earth but our spirits will rise up in heaven.

What does the New Testament say about heaven's kingdom? I gathered here what Jesus said in his parables and other quotes about heaven's kingdom but I also chose some parts of the Revelation:

The sower (Matt. 13:1-9)

The same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat there; and the crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables saying:" A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they had not much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched; and since they had no root they withered away. Other seeds fell upon thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear."

Wheat and the weeds (Matt. 13: 24-30)

Another parable he put before them saying:" The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the householder came and said to him:" Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then has it weeds?" He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' Then servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?' But he said; 'No; lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn."

The grain of mustard seed and leaven (Matt. 13:31-35)

Another parable he put before them, saying:" The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field, it is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make make nests in its branches." He told them another parable:" The kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened." All this Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed he said nothing to them without a parable. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:" I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world."

The treasure, the pearl and the net

"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field." "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it." "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net which was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind, when it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into vessels but threw away the bad. So it will be at the close of the age. THe angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous, and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth."

Who is the greatest? (Matt. 18: 1-6)

At the time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them, and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea."

What weighs on God's scale?

Here on Earth people are setting lots of expectations on you. They're trying to tell you who you're supposed to be. Media does it well but I have to say how stunned I am when I get such criticizing from friends who I thought were my friends. But it's sad though, because I have to admit those friends were from another culture. One of those friends would have appreciated me more if I was a muslim and another if I was a boy. And the same friend in question actually judged the worth of my unborn child...! I AM NOT TELLING THEIR NATIONALITIES, BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO WAKE UP ANY PREJUDICE TOWARDS THEIR ETHNICITY. Besides I'm engaged with a man from different culture. Really, he hasn't met him or her and neither have I. What right he has to be my judge? I'm even more stunned about this friend's judgement because he's a Christian as well and he even gave reason to judging my child's gender on God's wish! But I'm still friends with his sister and I'm a member of the Red Cross so there's no use of calling me a racist. Besides I have noted before and I'll show even in this post how I found anti-racism message in the Bible. God made Adam before Eve BUT I'm sure both men and women are equal images of God. I could take also another example which is Africa's black theology: they say regardless our colour and ethnic background we're all equal images of God; so black Adam isn't worse than the white one.



The only King and the only Righteous Judge in my life is Jesus Christ. So when I hear such hard judgements from the mortal I must proportion them in the right ankle and ask instead: What truly weighs in the God's scale? Does God truly care about my body's shape and my outer appearance, my outer glamour I would say? In the Bible it says 'God created human as his image' so God doesn't love woman any less. I would actually ask my ex-friend a reasonable question:" Then why God created woman too if He hates her? Why he didn't create only Adam?" Really, it doesn't make any sense. If he had created only Adam, me and you dear reader - we wouldn't even exist, because he would have been the only human to ever live. But I'm sure if our Creator had hated woman He wouldn't have even made her.



And I know someone would argue to me:" But Eve picked and ate the Forbidden Fruit after listening to Satan." But I would argue back:" Yeah but you must think deeper about three book religions Christianity, Judaism and Islam. The traditional belief of Original Sin doesn't favour man any more than woman: in all these traditions Adam eats the Fruit as well. In Judao-Christian tradition Adam bites the Fruit given by Eve BUT in Islamic tradition the picker of the fruit is Adam and he inflicts Eve to sin. In my mind the ultimate truth must be the equality of man and woman because leaning on these traditions we can't prove the superiority of man. I think it would make the situation all different if Adam would have declined eating the Fruit and let Eve eat it by herself. That would have turned the order of the Universe upside down."



I have found also more proof on God's love for woman: Virgin Mary is the key, because God chose her to be the mother of Jesus Christ. Lore tells that she was a young modest girl from the less important family branch of David. Jesus Christ showed much love for women in his action: He healed Peter's mother-in-law, He turned a dead girl alive, He healed a bleeding woman... And He even showed love for a foreign woman from Canaan (or from Phoenicia or from both?) as he healed her daughter by thought's power. As I said in my past post "Solomon and the Queen of Sheba" there's also anti-racism message in the action of Jesus and this deed was an example. There are even more examples how He showed love and respect for woman in His action: One Pharisee invited Jesus to dine at his home and a sinner woman arrived there too as she knew Jesus was there. She had a alabaster bottle with her filled with scent oil and she settled behind Jesus to his feet and cried and His feet got wet from her tears. She wiped them with her hair, kissed them and anointed them with scent oil. Pharisee despised acceptance of Jesus but Jesus knew what was on his mind and He told a parable for the good of sinner woman. Pharisee hadn't given water for Jesus to wash His feet, or kissed Him or anointed His head with oil but this sinner woman did it all all tenfoldly and got forgiveness of sin. (Luke 7:36-50) Besides chapter 8 of Luke begins with a description about women following and helping Jesus.

In this same context I also want to note Christ's love for children: he said that the childish are the greatest in heaven's kingdom. He didn't say boys are the greatest but he said that children are equally greatest in there. He blessed children, girls and boys. And I'm sure there's something that my ex-friend doesn't know: The fact is that after the crucifixion of Jesus there happened a change of mind in Rome for the good of unwanted children; People started to take care of those children abandoned on the street AND they started killing and abandoning less girl babies. And according to what I know about Antique's Rome the girls and children born disable were unwanted. So for my ex-friend: If God favours only certain people, why this change of mind occured after death of Jesus? Because God doesn't care are we men or women, because He created both and Christianity is about respecting life and loving people around you. Christianity is about equality and because Western countries are based on Christianity men and women are equal - we women are free to be and do whatever we want and we have all the same possibilities like men. So is it right following of Christ when you put yourself higher and despise the others? Christ has said himself:" Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." (Matt. 23:12) My one last argument speaking for this subject is that Jesus also taught to not to judge people as "the way you judge, you shall be judged and the way you measure, you shall be measured as well."

So now I shall finish my argumentation on answering in brief to my headline question: What weighs on God's scale? The key word is LOVE. Loving everybody around you, doing good for those you hate. Jesus is especially close for the groups that are most vulnerable, the most weak. God cares about the HEART, He doesn't care about such earthly things as gender (body's shape) or money. Success doesn't mean for Him a thing. He cares about your spirit and your good thoughts, beautiful words and deeds. But still all you need to do is believe.