I have come to the understanding that vampires do exist. You see, I work among them. Popular fantasy would have you believe that vampires are beautiful creatures that just happen to suck the blood from people. Although a few are still portrayed as evil, most are portrayed as very attractive, alluring, exciting creatures. Well the truth of the matter is rather boring, the truth of the matter is that vampires look just like you and me. As a matter of fact you might be one. Or you may be only a part time vampire, or one that dallies in the art from time to time. Vampires are not interested in your blood as popular folk lore would suggest, instead they seek to suck life from you, to leech joy from everyone around them, they magnify all that is wrong with the world and they tend to begin with the very small things that most of us don't even bother to get riled up about.

 I think it's safe to say that everyone has had their vampire moments. Sadly some people live there all the time.

  The vampires that I have to co-exist with, seek to sow discord, they are highly dissatisfied with everything, they complain and they seek others to join in with their complaints, and they question everything, they scream unfair at the top of their voices when asked to perform some task they are paid to perform. One can walk into work singing a song, and they will do their very best to have you muttering curses upon exit. They are the sort of people who do not see their glass as full, nor half full, in fact they have no glass at all. They can walk through the gates, past the greenest grass, heedless of the singing birds, unaware of the bright blue sky, they see nothing good at all in anything. The reek of bitterness and gall, and they abhor happiness of any kind. They will attack the weak like a pack of coyotes upon an injured cat. The more the injured one seeks to defend itself, the more brutal the attack. They do not cease until the joyful one is either in tears or raging anger.

 I ponder often how this can be, how can folks live such joyless negative lives? I wonder if they ever laugh? Do they ever have conversations about positive things? Is there anything right going on in their lives. I wonder how they came to be the way they are.............and then He speaks to my heart, He shows me my lack of patience in traffic, the times I complain, He shows me my "if only's" and "what if's". He reminds me of the things I have thought, the judgements I have made, not in the past, but this very day, and I realize that apart from Him, it is highly possible that I too could be a vampire. In fact, in some moments I have been one. I have sucked the joy from someone by the manner in which I responded to them, I have made jabs at things I disagree with, subtlety undermining, I have complained, I have griped. Although it has many years since it was to the  extent that the full fledged grown up vampire does, it puts me on that path. A path my heart does not want to walk upon, but my flesh often does.

 Thankfulness and praise are the antidote to becoming a vampire. The one who gives thanks in all things does not fall into vampire ways, the one who lifts praise to the Most High does not suck life from others, but instead infuses life.

 Compassion and love are needed to defeat the full fledged vampire, if your heart is filled with compassion and your soul overflowing with love, the negativity tossed out by the vampire, the "teeth" they use to suck joy from your soul, are rendered impotent. Do not give in to anger, but instead be guided by wisdom. 

  Don't be a vampire. Sow peace when at all possible, keep a calm mind, speak only that which edifies or corrects with compassion. Be thankful for all that you have. Praise God for His grace and mercy toward you. Ask Him to search your heart and reveal any vampire tendencies hidden there.......And pray for the vampires.

 Popular fantasy got one thing right, if you want to defeat a vampire, you need the cross. By doing as our Lord commanded, we lift the cross up, and nothing can stand against it. If you are in a negative mood, if you are sucking the joy from everyone around you, try singing some hymns, try giving thanks for all that you have, try praising God for who He is and what He has done for you. You will find the vampire traits flee. If it is someone else sucking the joy, try praying for them, try talking to them with care and compassion. If you allow the Jesus to shine forth out of you, the vampire will flee. And if you find one that simply will not go away.....ask God what it is He is trying to teach you by allowing this joy sucker to be in your life.

 It would seem that I am not the only one who has pondered the joy sucking vampires. I found a blog post about it (link to full blog at bottom of post). Although I probably will not be burning my vampires, and most of mine are simply not ones I can walk away from, I did like very much the descriptive manner in which this blogger refers to joy vampires.

"If I’m going to live that life (spreading joy) , I have to guard my positive energy. If I allow Joy Vampires in, I won’t be able to do it. And I’m not just talking about them being in my life physically, I’m talking about allowing them space in my head as well -- that is where they are most stealth. Vampires you haven’t seen in twenty years could still be sucking your life’s blood simply through your thoughts. I have a personal remedy for ridding myself of vampires, and its simple, really.  I release them. I’ve held vampires captive in my head through my own anger -- an anger that sunk its hooks in and wouldn’t budge.  But here is the garlic, the stake through the heart, the silver bullet that finally worked: I wished them peace, healing, and I let them go. I also added a ritual, because I’m a concrete thinker, and like to do something physically to make clear what I’m doing. I write the vampires names on a piece of paper. I hold the paper in against my heart and say a loving prayer, letting them go. Then I burn the paper in my fireplace, and watch the wisps of smoke go upward, out the chimney, away from me.

“I wish you peace, I wish you peace…” I say until the smoke is gone.

 So tomorrow I will again go forth and deal with vampires, my desire is to lift up the cross and defeat the joy suckers. I pray the vampire I contend with tomorrow is not me.

"But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!"

"Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry—but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don’t stay angry. Don’t go to bed angry. Don’t give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life."

 Today, as I was sitting outside on my break, attempting to write something, some blessing received, I asked the Lord, to open my eyes, my ears, my heart to His blessings…for I was empty..
 Then quite suddenly the thought of singing trees entered my mind, and I began to notice the wind, and the trees, and I began to hear the rustling of the leaves as the trees bent back and forth in the wind….their leaves rustling together…like song….and I could hear them sing.

 The sycamore trees were loud and joyful, their leaves making a mighty rustling sound, their many limbs whipping back and forth in time with the wind…nearby the pines sang, their voices low, almost overpowered by the sycamore…until you stood close to them, they more stoic and reserved, but still singing….and the Japanese maple, dancing gracefully, its song but a whisper in the wind…

How blessed I am, what blessing…to hear the trees sing!

 Later, after penning these words in my journal, I in curiosity decided to do an internet search for trees singing. And I found this poem and this painting....…..How delightful!

When the Trees Sing

When the trees sing,
It doesn't really matter
If you know the song,
Or if you know the words,
Or even if you know the tune.
What really matters is knowing
That the trees are singing at all.

May 6, 1998© Matthew Joseph Thaddeus Stepanek

As I walked along the lakeshore, I saw brightly colored dragonflies, some red, some blue, darting about on the water. A red tailed hawk took to the sky and soared above, prairie dogs gave their warning barks and dived into their shelters as I passed, a few brave ones standing at the edge on hind legs…watching me.

Bells began to ring across the meadow and as I looked out I could see a flock of sheep coming across the field, driven by one little sheepdog. He carefully took them out into the middle; made sure each one was accounted for, and then settled down to watch them graze.

By now the horses are curious; they approach me slowly and with some trepidation. I began to talk to them, hands at my sides, not really staring at them, just telling them what a pretty place this is, and how much I enjoyed looking at it. They got within 8 to 10 feet of me, but any movement to reach a hand out, or entice them nearer was met with snorts and head tosses. So I took a few photos of them as they watched me.

As I walked about they followed from a distance of about 10-15 feet, stopping if I stopped, watching me closely if I turned to look at them, I took a few more photos, and just continued to chat with them as I walked. I took a few photos of the sheep, the dog unwilling to let me get to close, he warned me off with a bark, and when I took two steps forward he began to move his sheep away. So I backed away and left him be, hearing his message…I am working. No time to meet new friends right now.

I began my walk back towards the vehicle, and the horses followed. I figured they would stop at the edge of the grassland, but they did not, so I chatted with them as we walked, still not being able to touch them or get to close.

They stopped some distance from the car, and at that point, since they had come so far and been such great company, I had to reward them in some way, so I pulled carrots from the ice chest, and made my way back to them, and just stood, a few carrots in hand, and asked them if they would like one.

Slowly and with caution, the big blaze faced one approached, and extended his neck as far as he could, and then extended his lips and managed to grasp a carrot from the edge of my palm…and then he came a little closer. Within moments I was able to touch his neck, and then another came closer, and another.

Surrounded by horses I continue talking to them, most of them allow me to pat their necks, they become curious about the vehicle and one decides it would make a wonderful butt scratcher…and begins to scratch his backside on the back of the car, another for whatever reason decides to lick the back windshield…..and then another decides the windshield wipers just might be edible.

At this point it is time to say goodbye, before my husband gets upset at them for eating parts of the vehicle, so I climb into the driver’s seat and gently shoo them away, and take a short drive to the nearest rest facilities. Upon my return they had all gone back to their grazing.

I took my chair down to the lake where my husband and sister in law were fishing, along with my pole and my book, and sat for a spell, listening to the water gently lap against the shore, watching the birds flying above, the dragonflies flitting to and fro, and the occasional fish leaping from the water. I fished for perhaps ten minutes and quickly lost interest.

I read for a while, went for another walk, took a nap and just generally soaked up the sun and rested. No fish were caught on this trip and by noon the thunderheads were rolling in and a hard storm was approaching, so we took our leave of Blue Water Lake, for fear of being caught in the storm and getting stuck in the mud that was sure to be left in its wake.

I left refreshed and full of joy, the circumstances of my life had not changed, I still have a son suffering from severe PTSD, my daughter in law is still dead, my younger son still depressed, my niece still dealing with her husband’s suicide, all the things to worry about were still there, but I was at peace.

I thought a lot about heaven that day, what it must be like, would there be the same animals in the new heaven and new earth as we have on this one? I believe so, after all my Lord has told me He is preparing a place for me, and He has told me that I am unable to even imagine how wonderful it will be. I have always loved His creatures, and it is His will to delight His children….there will be animals in heaven!

Happiness is fleeting at best, for to be happy everything must be as one would like it to be……but joy is always possible, one cannot be happy while in the midst of sorrow, but one can have joy in the midst of sorrow. Despair destroys both happiness and joy, for in despair there is no hope, no light, nothing of beauty, nothing to delight in, nothing to be amazed by…….so I choose to reject despair and take up sorrow………for my family and for many of my friends, there has just been too much recently to grasp at happiness….for me, in order to be happy, my children must be happy, my husband must be happy, finances must be certain, health must be good, and my extended family and friends must likewise have these things….if any is lacking, if there is concern, if there is loss, if there is suffering of any kind, then happiness escapes me. Buy Joy…joy is another thing entirely!

 I rejoice in the midst of sorrow, I rejoice that loved ones who have left this world are with Him, where there is no more sorrow, where they are as He meant them to be, where all is well, and where I will one day be……I will see them again.

In the midst of sorrow, I rejoice in creation, in the wonder of the flowers, and the life that surrounds us, in the antics of silly dogs as they play, in the wonder of children as they ask simple questions about things I often do not even notice…..I rejoice in these things.

In the midst of sorrow, I rejoice in the people He has brought into my life, the dear friends, and the strangers who seem to fall from the sky right when I or someone I love need their expertise. God is so good to have sent such people my way.

I rejoice in His grace, in the midst of my sorrow, His abundant marvelous grace that never rewards me for my thoughts, my deeds…but instead pours out goodness and mercy upon my so often sinful soul.

I rejoice in His word, that brings comfort to my soul, and in His promises to which I cling. He will not leave me, nor forsake me, He is faithful, He is trustworthy, and He is true.

All around us are blessings, for He blesses the righteous and the unrighteous with the simple wonders of creation, the air we breathe, the gentle breeze on a hot summer day, the refreshing rain that falls upon the hot parched earth, the flowers that fill the air with their wonderful fragrance….all these things and more are given us each day. 1000 blessings, and on most days we miss even seeing 999 of them.

Take a moment and watch this short video….perhaps it will help you as it has helped me, to see the beauty around you, to see the blessings around you, no matter what loss, no matter how sad, no matter the sorrow….there are always things to be thankful for. It is a truly profound video, I do hope you take the time to see for yourself.