Spiritual Discernment & Divine Timing: Gary Sheng & Mayssam Daaboul

Date: August 8, 2025
Location: Video call (Gary in Miami, Mayssam in Lebanon)
Participants: Gary Sheng (@gary-sheng.md), Mayssam Daaboul (@mayssam-daaboul.md)

Meeting Context

• Gary's Current State: In transition period after leaving "soulless capitalist" work environment, waiting on Dr. Lael Alexander's timeline, staying with mentor friend while discerning next steps
• Spiritual Theme: Focus on trusting God's timing vs. human expectations and understanding divine will through uncertainty
• Tone: Mentorship and mutual spiritual encouragement, with practical discussions about Lebanon journalism project and Eastern Christian collaboration

Major Discussion Topics

1. Gary's Life Transition and Divine Timing

Professional Uncertainty

Gary shared his current liminal state between opportunities:

Gary: "Kind of soulless capitalist, honestly And so I just couldn't do it anymore even though the pay was good... After many many times of telling me to come over and that we would start working together. He said he needed more time So I've been left hanging for the last week trying to figure out What to do with my life"

Spiritual Reflection on Expectations

Gary: "I've been reflecting on my own expectations And then I've been like I'm using my own understanding versus God's understanding about people and where they're at spiritually and mentally"

Trust vs. Planning

Gary: "I think this is just another opportunity for me to learn how to trust God more"

2. Mayssam's Radical Surrender Philosophy

"Everything is the Will of God" Framework

Mayssam shared his transformative spiritual principle:

Mayssam: "There's a very strange and radical rule that I decided to adopt which says Everything is is the will of God and Include it includes all the shitty stuff"

Marriage in Weakness Testimony

Powerful personal testimony about God's unconventional timing:

Mayssam: "I Remember that I would never marry unless I have my own house in my own car and fully satisfied financially And I hear the voice of God saying you are going to marry while you are cripples... I'm like, why wouldn't you set me up? Properly to be a proper, you know independent father and he says because If you have the money, you won't even try to rely on [Me]"

Divine Provision Through Trust

Mayssam: "He provided me step by step. I needed to trust him and take the leap just like you're saying I Would try something I would do what I can if it doesn't work. It's not his will remove your expectation If it works if it will if it's it's as well also my son remove your expectation"

3. "Labor and Wait" Spiritual Discipline

American Poet Reference

Mayssam referenced profound spiritual wisdom from American poetry:

Mayssam: "I have this poem that I Shared yesterday... an American poet and he talks about this at the end and and he says that The end the end is beautiful. He says learn to labor and to wait"

Practical Application

Mayssam: "What I started doing is let's say applying for 10 applications to get You know some small jobs the moment I'm doing the application I'm fully in focused on the moment the moment I send it fuck. I forget it. I forget it if anyone answers Perfect I Answer to best viability Then forget"

Success Rate and Peace

Mayssam: "the success rate is less than 10% Which something is something you obviously know... I did what I can Gary and Hey, my son what happened with that call you applied for? I don't know man. I just you know Did the best that I can and send the application?"

4. Spiritual Warfare and Weakness as Strength

Biblical Foundation - 2 Corinthians 12:9

Mayssam provided extensive teaching on Paul's thorn experience:

Mayssam: "Paul had this dream that he was in pain and He's shouting to God Relieve my pain bring me peace. Why are you not answering me? And then he hears the voice of God saying My grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect and weakness And then Paul continues and says Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses So that Christ's power may rest on me"

Western Civilization Critique

Mayssam: "Our pain and weakness are the doorway to God or else we are Self-sufficient and pride eats us and this is what happened to Western civilization We don't need God look we have the best roads the best companies the best systems we humans have built everything ourselves"

Love of Weakness Philosophy

Mayssam: "I Will love my weakness without it pride will eat me My weakness is is my opportunity to remember that I have to run to the Almighty"

5. Catholic Church and Maronite Relations

Gary's Vatican Collaboration Status

Gary: "I think there's an opportunity if I think it even makes sense to To To re-explore with Leo, but I don't know I've heard rumors of him Being Demonic What you can know with God no one can know If you see any sign of that Fuck it. You move on if you don't you prove the rumors wrong and you open the door"

Historical Maronite-Catholic Relations

Mayssam provided comprehensive historical analysis:

Origins and Independence:

Mayssam: "Initially 5th-6th century there was this big argument That you could only say Christ is God. You could never say that Christ had a dual nature Which is Christ is God and man... there was this monk called st. Maron who insisted that Christ was both God and man... Maronites historically are monks in their spirit and hearts Focusing on the relationship with Christ Through complete isolation"

Management Structure:

Mayssam: "Monks were the management power. They used to take clans and farm and their management systems were super transparent very ethical At some point they put the patriarch but the patriarch would only commune with monks. There was no bishops or whatever the Management structure of Catholicism"

Catholic Influence Period:

Mayssam: "the Byzantine Empire falls and The Maronites were found without protection from Islam raids and others So they sent a letter to the Catholic Church saying we are Eastern Christians here and we need help Obviously the Catholic Church saw it as a political opportunity to put a foot in Eastern Christianity"

Corruption of Monastic System:

Mayssam: "they didn't like the monks the monks were too radical in being transparent and ethical and the Catholic Church wanted to introduce their structure with bishops... They hurt the monks and they removed the monks from management power... the Catholic Power in Lebanon was through the French and obviously the French created a new elite Maronite society, which is between 1920 and 1940 and instead of worshipping God some big family started worshipping money"

Current Independence:

Mayssam: "The Catholic involvement with Maronites Is much more limited Than the Catholic involvement with their congregations around the world Maronites still have a lot of independency"

Vatican Spiritual Warfare Assessment

Mayssam: "There's actually not a lot they can maneuver now Regarding the spiritual war in the Vatican. That is very big The devil has taken big parts of the Vatican as an institution Of course that does not mean that every member is evil The salt of the earth are everywhere fighting in silence"

6. Eastern Christian Union Development

Organizational Progress

Mayssam: "When we were starting to do our Eastern Christian Union You know, the first thing you do is you check if someone else has done that and was it good enough?"

Billionaire Corruption Discovery

Mayssam shared troubling findings about existing Eastern Christian organizations:

Mayssam: "My friend in my village... I was telling him about this Eastern Christian Union and he told me my son Do you know that? We have a billionaire from our village That has a very big Organization To empower Eastern Christians... I went to several of their meetings and there's always fundraising And I was like, well, how the fuck No one knows about it, and we haven't felt anything about it and obviously Well, you know the answer just fucking probably money-laundering"

Psychopathy and Wealth Analysis

Mayssam: "billionaires, which are all psychopaths. And by the way, I'm sure you know psychopathy medically is is the lack of empathy so when Scientists looked at the brain of psychopath. They simply saw a lack of empathy"

Management System Philosophy

Mayssam: "it's all about proper ethical organization You know the right people with empathy and humility Are truly willing to help and making sure that the management infrastructure Incentivizes transparency rather than wealth hoarding... we can create management systems that reward transparency and sharing and collaboration just like they did the systems that reward psychopathy and greed"

7. Lebanon Journalism Project Support

Gary's Validation and Support

Mayssam: "I want to thank you very much For the effort and heart The fact that you and Isaiah are talking about Eastern Christianity and you know Deliberating on what to do with an article and and how to improve it and and you guys Arguing this is the best road. No, this is the best road. All this is a blessing. All this is more than I could ever imagine"

Strategic Collaboration Framework

Mayssam: "let's take anything to whatever you strategically see. let's have a talk. let's Tell me my son change here. Do that. This is the best road and we talk and we engage in the Holy Spirit My colleagues here that met Isaiah are very happy or very satisfied"

Future Vision

Mayssam: "One day we're gonna go together to see the monks in the mountains beautiful"

8. Spiritual Principles and Personal Relationship with Christ

Christianity vs. Institutional Religion

Mayssam: "everything Christianity nation churches. Everything is useless Only a personal relationship with Christ only falling in love with him so that when we grow strong, we always come back to him and thank him at every moment and And this is where he will give us the opportunities when we truly learn that we can only rely on him"

Divine Appointment Recognition

Gary: "Again I know a lot of concern about the Catholic Church involvement with Maronites" Mayssam: "You Know let's take anything to whatever you strategically see."

Key Spiritual Insights and Themes

Divine Timing vs. Human Expectations

Both participants wrestled with the tension between human planning and divine timing, with Mayssam providing biblical framework for embracing uncertainty and weakness as pathways to divine strength.

Weakness as Spiritual Opportunity

Extended theological discussion of 2 Corinthians 12:9 as foundation for embracing limitations and setbacks as opportunities for divine dependence rather than obstacles to success.

Institutional vs. Personal Faith

Strong emphasis on personal relationship with Christ over institutional structures, while maintaining respect for historical Christian traditions and seeking authentic organizational expressions.

Historical Awareness and Strategic Planning

Sophisticated understanding of historical Catholic-Maronite relations informing current Eastern Christian Union development with emphasis on avoiding past corruption patterns.

Corruption Identification and Alternative Vision

Frank assessment of existing organizational corruption combined with constructive vision for transparency-based management systems that incentivize collaboration over wealth hoarding.

Strategic Outcomes and Future Directions

Continued Lebanon Journalism Collaboration

Strong validation and support for Isaiah McCall's Lebanon journalism project with emphasis on truthful representation of Eastern Christian perspectives.

Eastern Christian Union Advancement

Progress on developing authentic organizational structures for Eastern Christian collaboration with careful attention to avoiding historical corruption patterns.

Spiritual Mentorship Relationship

Continued mutual spiritual encouragement and strategic counsel between Gary and Mayssam with emphasis on trusting divine timing over human expectations.

Vatican Relationship Discernment

Open but cautious approach to potential Vatican collaboration with emphasis on spiritual discernment and clear boundaries around authentic vs. corrupt institutional expressions.

Notable Quotes

On Divine Timing and Trust

• "There's a very strange and radical rule that I decided to adopt which says Everything is is the will of God and Include it includes all the shitty stuff" - Mayssam
• "I think this is just another opportunity for me to learn how to trust God more" - Gary
• "learn to labor and to wait" - American poet referenced by Mayssam

On Spiritual Warfare and Weakness

• "My grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect and weakness" - Paul quoted by Mayssam
• "I Will love my weakness without it pride will eat me" - Mayssam
• "Our pain and weakness are the doorway to God or else we are Self-sufficient and pride eats us" - Mayssam

On Institutional Faith vs. Personal Relationship

• "everything Christianity nation churches. Everything is useless Only a personal relationship with Christ" - Mayssam
• "The devil has taken big parts of the Vatican as an institution Of course that does not mean that every member is evil" - Mayssam

On Organizational Integrity

• "we can create management systems that reward transparency and sharing and collaboration just like they did the systems that reward psychopathy and greed" - Mayssam
• "billionaires, which are all psychopaths... psychopathy medically is is the lack of empathy" - Mayssam

Personal Development and Character Growth

This conversation demonstrated both participants' continued spiritual maturation through uncertainty and institutional disillusionment, with emphasis on maintaining faith-centered perspectives while navigating complex organizational and personal transitions. Mayssam's "labor and wait" philosophy provided practical framework for Gary's current transition period, while Gary's strategic network and funding support continued advancing Mayssam's Eastern Christian Union vision.