God

Love Letters for Valentine’s Day

Posted on by jptanabe

During the 40 years of our married life on the earth Dietrich and I wrote many letters to each other, and we kept them all. They reveal the story of our life together, the romantic beginning, the hard struggles, and the true love centered on God that deepened over the years into an eternal, sacred bond.

For Valentine’s Day this year I want to share some excerpts from our letters:

To Dietrich:

“When you looked at me for the first time, I could see God in your eyes. There was so much understanding, goodness, and very deep love. I was so moved at that moment. How happy God must feel when He is at the center of a family. God can express Himself fully through a family, and that man during his lifetime must experience three kinds of love. It will be a wonderful adventure together to reach perfection!”

From Dietrich:

“You are more in my thoughts than my studies, and I still find it hard to fully get back to my class schedule. It feels to me that Heavenly Father performed one of His miracles to brings us two together. My whole outlook on life is changed since I became a married man.”

When we visited our families in Europe, mine in France and Dietrich’s in Austria, we faced many difficulties.

To Dietrich:

“My heart was so very painful the whole day and I know your heart was too. One thing for sure is that our ancestors have to unite together too, and this is a very difficult process. The fights are not only between both of us but between different nations.” 

 Dietrich’s encouraging response:

“We both know that we will find ourselves closer to each other if we both serve the higher purpose. … So much I wish we could always be deeply united with the love of our Heavenly Father. We have to determine every day to walk the path of restoration together and this way unite our family, our ancestors, and our countries. I will be with you in your prayers. I embrace you with all my heart.”

Before he passed, Dietrich told me “I will be always with you, forever together.” And it is true – sometimes I receive a hug from him in the eternal realm!

Please enjoy this recording of a talk I gave about our love story. Click this link or click on the image below to play the recording.

Your friend, Elisabeth Seidel

It is a Good Year

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Today is a good day!

The art of communication: to have listening skills can save the day. It can even save your marriage.

Listening to someone’s grievance eases the heart and heals the emotions.

Reading my memoirs, the first day I met my husband I wrote: We talk, talk, and talk!

Communication is the key. We feel valued! We feel loved! Appreciated! Needed! We belong!

Words have energy. Let’s choose our sentences carefully. Let’s speak beautiful things. Let’s convey God’s deep love for us everywhere we go.

Our Heavenly Parent has also the heart to communicate with us, encouraging us in this new year 2024!

It is a good day today! It is going to be a good year!

Your friend, Elisabeth Seidel

Thayer Lane, Where the Moon Is My Street Light

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Thayer Lane in winter

When we moved to our new home there were no street lights on Thayer Lane. There never will be.

The nature, the evergreens, the night sky, the shiny bright stars, the North Star, the constellations, and the universe are there for all of us. Besides, among the celestial planets, when there is a full moon, it is as bright as it can be.

If you could see with spiritual eyes, you would see the warm fire of our hearts reaching out to each other and to God, love being the fastest of all, reaching across the oceans and mountains to illuminate, encourage, and heal those who have been wounded by angry words, irresponsible acts, means actions, bad choices, immoral behavior, and all the ugly things. If you could see with your spiritual eyes, you would see that there is a safe place with a loving couple standing before God, making petitions for others, and bringing them together as an extended family, to reach a new level of understanding and happiness, fulfillment, and accomplishments.

Our house wrapped in a rainbow

Joy is to be found and elevated to a new world where God lives. The knowledge of God is the greatest knowledge of all. God’s creation, all of nature, teaches us so much about how to live harmoniously with God and with each other.

Your friend, Elisabeth Seidel

Breakfast in Bed

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This morning I woke up with a luxurious idea: Did I ever have breakfast in bed?
I do not remember.

In France it is supposed to be one of the ultimate luxuries. I am not talking about when you have to eat in bed; if you are sick and at the hospital and can’t get up.

Perhaps once when my cup was too full, someone in my family brought me a croissant and coffee? I do not remember.

When I go to the next world, I will ask my grandma to make breakfast in bed for me. She was always so good to me. I miss her a lot. After we walked all the way to Montarlot by St Étienne de Cuines, the first village in the mountains, when we arrived back home she would bake these châtaignes (chesnuts) for me in the oven, or cook them with milk. I remember the taste of them. If I ask her, she will make breakfast in bed for me.

Of course, my true love has to be there too in order for it to be the ultimate luxury.

It cannot be at 6.00 am. It has to be later, when the sun comes out and you see it appearing behind your curtains. You hear the chirping of the birds in the backyard and nobody is hurried, because you are busy taking in the sounds of nature, and all the love you are already receiving from everyone.

Food is love. My Heavenly Father made luxurious food for me. I am so happy I can enjoy all the food He made for me, the cherries and the fuji apples. Who else would you think made such a delicacy?

Luxury comes also when we mix products from the farm, baking and cooking them, like apple pie, or steak and fries.

Woah! I will have breakfast in bed someday with my beloved. I will ask my grandma to cook it for us.

Is it not a wonderful world?

Elisabeth Seidel

Love and Life

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I enjoyed reading “Love & Life” by Dr. Laura Schlessinger.

She said that security in marriage comes from fulfilling the vows you made “To Love, honor, and cherish.” She also advises that repairing marriages is better that ending them. Children grow up best with a married daddy and mommy.

Finally, she said that if you want to improve your marriage:

  • Do not say anything to your husband that is not sweet
  • No bitching
  • No complaining
  • No whining
  • No nagging

Instead, be a girlfriend to your husband because girlfriends know boyfriends leave if this situation happens.

In my situation when I got married, I was dysfunctional. Dysfunctional because of my inheritance – spiritual or character traits accumulated in my ancestry that were not necessarily the best, my upbringing, my experiences in life, my shortcomings, my inadequacies to handle conflicts etc…my too strong emotions.

My husband Dietrich often said to me that I was irrational, or “Oh! You are so emotional!”

In my opinion, Dietrich was also dysfunctional. He did not know what to do with me when “I was irrational.” He also came to our marriage with stuff. He was not aware of the stuff he was carrying around.

We did not know how to deal with conflicts the best way at the time. We were both dysfunctional trying to make a happy ending with our relationship. Was it an impossible dream to come together?

We did three things:

1. We educated ourselves on how to resolve conflicts by taking marriage seminars

My husband wrote his doctoral dissertation on marriage and family.

2. We served and loved our parents

Dietrich intentionally and actively loved and served my dad and mom.

I was smart enough to know that a successful relationship with Dietrich was to absolutely reconcile with his German father, and unite with his mother. This I did with much difficulty, because as I said before our marriage was between two enemy nations. Through loving his parents, I loved his inheritance, his ancestors.

3. We had unshakable faith

Our secret weapon for both of us was our absolute faith in God, our Heavenly Parent. Because of our faith, the impossible became possible. He was persistent not to be deterred by any conflict. I loved it when my husband said, “I love you no matter what.” I was stubborn to cling to God, our Heavenly Parent. We never let go of our dream to be true love partners forever.

So, from dysfunctional we became workable, to wonderful, to true love partners for ever, finally to a sacred heavenly bond.

Over the course of our forty years of married life together, we learned to forgive, to love, to honor, and to cherish. We became eternal love partners, Beloveds, forever together.

If we could do it, you can too! Elisabeth Seidel

The Gates of Heaven Cracked Open:

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A spiritual trip to Belvedere on waking up

Belvedere, where the four-leaf clovers grow
Where my Father spoke
Reviving the dead people
Making them whole
And holy
Dreaming of the new world
To come.
 
With the word
We were revived,
Every Sunday,
At the break of dawn
 
Words
Never heard before.
They pierced our soul
With light
And love
And truth.
 
Words never heard
So deep
The place where God came
To meet the True Parents
And us.
 
Today
After it seemed centuries of our life
Those who followed The True Father
And the True Mother
Came to Belvedere to finally crack open
The GATES OF HEAVEN
 
Those are my brothers and sisters
With their spiritual powers
And loving thoughts
Beyond this world
Pushing together the impossible dream of our life,
The Gates of Heaven cracked open.
 

Your friend, Elisabeth Seidel

Peace and the Kingdom of God

Posted on by jptanabe

This month of April I was reading two books by the famous Christian couple, Rick and Kay Warren. My motivation is always to find out how they make their marriage work and how do they work well together.

First I read a most moving testimony by Kay Warren somewhere on Facebook. I was moved to tears because her marriage was not working and she was in the pit of hell. As you all know, Faith moves mountains. She could work her way up and be victorious. Her book is called “Choose Joy.” Her joy is rooted in gratitude: No joyful heart without a grateful heart. I had great admiration for Kay Warren, because she could practice “With God all is possible.“

Then I read “The Purpose Driven Life” by Rick warren, her husband and Pastor of the Saddleback mega church in California. My take away from this inspiring book is that all research demonstrates than when people lose a sense of purpose in life, they lose the motivation to live at all, so whatever time we have we need to be purposeful. Rick Warren also says “You must begin with God your creator. You were made by God and for God and until you understand that, life will never make sense.”

Today one in four teens wants to commit suicide. In my opinion they are confused where to find their purpose and goal in life.

My husband was wondering in his early twenties why Jesus could not marry and show the way to build successful families and a peaceful world. Today as many of us show the way, God again is speaking. Who searches finds, qui cherche trouve.

Let’s go against the trend to be whoever we feel we are, with many different pronouns and genders. Let’s be simple by asserting that a family is the beginning of God’s kingdom. A peaceful family brings a peaceful world.

And as our Heavenly Parent loves us as a Father and Mother, He also gave us commandments throughout the Bible of how to live. In the Old Testament we got 10 commandments. Jesus told us to love one another and love our enemy as well. In my church we are reciting the Family Pledge, as peaceful families make a peaceful world.

Your friend, Elisabeth Seidel

Love letter Excerpts for your Valentine’s Day

Posted on by jptanabe

These letters were written in 1977, where there were no cell phones or texts available. We wrote those letters by hand, stamped them and mailed them. And I kept all of them. They are treasures to our heart of a life of True Love with our Heavenly Father and each other. Only the last letter, written to Dietrich after he passed, was written on the computer after 40 years of our life together.

I truly experienced the love of God when introduce to my husband Dietrich, and looking deeply into his eyes it was like a spiritual experience, going through a tunnel all the way to Heaven and sensing God and his profound love. God was looking at me through Dietrich. It has been our deepest wish that everyone can experience true love with our Heavenly Father and each other as husband and wife. With God all is possible.

Dear Elisabeth, you are more in my thoughts than my studies. Heavenly Father performed one of his miracles to bring the two of us together. My whole outlook on life is changed since I became a married man. I send you my love, your Dietrich

Dear Dieter, there is warmth in my heart when I think Heavenly Father picked me to be your wife. I will pray more for you, with all my love, Elisabeth

Dear Elisabeth, I think of you often, and feel your pure spirit sometimes very intensely in my heart. I feel very close to you, and ask Heavenly Father to guide us strongly in building our relationship.
Let us patiently build what will last for eternity, your Dietrich

Dear Elisabeth, I want to thank our Heavenly Father and you, for this uniquely beautiful Sunday we were able to experience together. My heart is filled with indescribable joy when I think of you, and to realize that God led us together to be united for eternity is too much to be contained in my heart. I feel like overflowing and embracing the whole world. We are tasting just a little bit of God’s love. How beautiful it will be when the whole world is able to fully welcome God’s presence, and to respond to His invincible love.
The more I think of you, Elisabeth, the more I am convinced that it is only you who can be my wife. I send you all my love, Dietrich

I only want to add that true love is eternal, and we continue to grow together and love each other, from two different realms.

Here you can find my letter written to Dietrich shortly after his passing almost seven years ago.

Happy Valentine’s True Love to all my friends.

Your friend, Elisabeth Seidel

A Christmas True story

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It was the end of the year 1976 in New York City. I had just come from France a few months earlier and was adapting to the American life, away from my hometown in the French Alps. and Paris where I had lived.

My job at that time was in a showroom in a French jewelry company on Fifth Avenue. That day I had an appointment with a chiropractor, but I never arrived there. In fact something happened that would change my life and destiny.

I was a bit late, and like all New Yorkers, I started rushing, in the streets. As the street light was changing from red to green, I was the first one running to cross the street. I never made it to the other side.

One car had the same idea to dash through the changing light. It hit me in the back, which projected me on to the ground and I saw the four wheels passing over me. I heard people screaming at the horrible scene. In this split second I screamed to God “Heavenly Father my life is for you.” I was surprised at this audacious sentence to my Heavenly Father.

In a dream state I felt the car was lifted over my body in order not to crush me. A band of angels were by my side; a heavenly presence surrounding me.

As I was laying on the ground, trying to figure out what had happened, the car driver came out of his car screamed at me and left.

Another young guy said he called an ambulance and one lady and other passersby stayed with me till the ambulance arrived. The lady said “I saw Jesus, and he saved your life.” These were words of love and comfort.

I did not see Jesus, but I felt a Heavenly presence, I felt the angels dispatched in New York City. That day I was giving my life for God and he gave it back to me.

Besides a serious broken arm injury and a few days at the hospital I was fine. I spent Christmas that year in a cast and was so grateful to be alive.

I always felt I had a life mission. In fact, a few months later, I met my true, forever love. It was a snowy day with snowflakes all around in the beautiful Belvedere estate in Tarrytown, where in the spring the four-leaf clovers grow. There was to be a marriage blessing, and I was there with my new husband to be.

This was my Christmas miracle. Thank you that I could share it with you.

Your friend, Elisabeth Seidel

Prophetic Dreams

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When I was visiting my hometowns of La Chambre and St Jean in France, I had several prophetic dreams.

First, I dreamed that I gave birth to a child who could not breathe. It was lifeless. Then the doctor put it in my arms. He then tried to make it breathe by bending it back and forth. Still the child seemed deformed and sick. The doctor put it back in my arms. The legs and arms were falling apart like a broken doll. I was trying to fix it by putting the arms and legs together. I loved this child.

I was being helped. Monique, my spiritual daughter, was helping me to take care of this child, and then other people as well.

At the beginning of the dream there was a scene with people who were immoral and corrupt. At the end of the dream the child appeared alive in the arms of Monique, and I was to go with my child to meet many other parents with their children.

Then, a couple of days later, I dreamed I was in a room with three babies a few months old, sleeping. There were a few more people besides me.

I noticed one baby could not breathe, so I called the nurse who was in the back room. She did not seem to be too eager to do anything. So, I felt it was my responsibility to revive the child. I tapped it three times on the back. Suddenly the young child took a long deep breath and revived.

My interpretation is that God gave us life. In Genesis 2:7, it says God breathed into Adam to give him life: “And the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Without God we have no life. We are lifeless. Spiritual life is more important than physical life.

Today God is seeking His children who are lifeless, who cannot breathe, because they rejected God or led corrupt and immoral lives without any concern for others or for their beloved Heavenly Parent.

Sin has consequences, even if God is a loving parent, we need to attune with our parent’s love and seek His will and direction for our life. Sometimes we need a spiritual parent to help us breathe, to guide us on the way until we reach maturity and can breathe on our own.

The photos below show me with my cousins and my daughter crossing the river to go to le Vallonnet, a village near Saint Sorlin d’Arves in the French Alps, where our common ancestor my great-grandma Sylvie Bartholomé lived.

In another one of my dreams, I saw in beautiful colors the bridge across the River Arc in my hometown. People were crossing that bridge very calmly and peacefully. On the other side it seemed so beautiful, like the new kingdom, a new world in a new heavenly land.

The last dream was very short but the message was very clear. The mountains around my hometown were crumbling down. Big rocks and stones were rolling all the way to the villages. It was a very dangerous situation.

At that moment I felt like a new Joan of Arc, telling the panicked people all in disarray, “This way! Follow me!”

These dreams encouraged me to give spiritual life to the people of my hometown.

Your friend, Elisabeth Seidel