Taking it for granted

Yesterday was a typical Sunday.  We went to early service, visited the in-laws and headed home for a little R & R.  I went on my run and upon my return ...began to make a quiche (or vegetable pie- as my mother would call it).  I sliced/diced all the needed ingredients and added a few I don't normally include: spinach & mushrooms.  All was moving right along when our power unexpectedly went off.  My first reaction was to question the bill payment- as opposed to an actual blackout. Jarrod laughed about it about an hour later-well, sort of ;o).  We quickly determined that our neighborhood was experiencing the same 'black out' as it were and decided to just lay up.  Olivia enjoyed the outdoors with the neighborhood kids while Jarrod and I laid on the couch- candles flickering and sleepiness in tow.  It was a good time to chat.  It was a great reminder as to how spoiled we truly are to live in a nation with such abundance.  Yes, I had to throw out my chopped veggies and toss the egg mixture. And yes, we had to have cereal and sandwiches, but a few short moments thereafter, power was restored and the intimate moment of time began to move rapidly, again.

During our 'dark time,' Jarrod and I began to discuss some 'goings-on' that included a brief interlude of how everyone we hear about of late has some kind of 'addiction' issue and/or just participates in extra curricular vices for the fun of it or pops the prescription pills to 'make it through life.' He says to me 'I guess I just take it for granted...that I have Jesus.'  He was in awe and then...I was in awe. 

It wasn't too terribly long ago for either of us that we partook in the 'good old fashion fun of embibing' every now and then and we aren't that far removed from the addictive grips of tobacco.  I loved to drink. I probably still would drink- if God had not convicted me of it.  **Disclaimer** - I am not judging those that do drink or need medication for health/mental health purposes. I am testifying to the fact that we don't and what it has meant for us and means for us today; I am testifying to the realization that we often forget where we have come from- thanks to Jesus.***

It's been a short time for  us both to have been completely sober in this life.  And, we both agreed that sobriety has it's difficult days, but none so bad and overwhelming (to date) that we've not been able to overcome with the Word of God and faith in Jesus Christ.  I type this more easily than I can say it.  I do not know what tomorrow holds for either of us.  My faith is in Christ and that through Him, we have been delivered from the bondage that is the world's idea of 'letting go' or 'relaxing' or 'having a good time.'   I praise Him for our lives- our sobriety and our ability to withstand in this arenas.  I pray for those I know who take the use of drugs lightly and struggle not with addiction or are polar opposite and cannot break free from addiction. I pray for the same Jesus I serve and believe in to become the 'vice' in the lives of these people.  I know His love and strength knows no bounds and that bondage does what it says - it binds!

I have vices.  They are all avoidance or selfish.  They can all be replacements for He who died for us that day at Calvary. It's nice to numb from things that hurt or are hard in this life- who doesn't automatically want to do that?  It's so much more difficult to be vulnerable to a Savior we cannot see and a Heavenly Father who is and defines LOVE.  I know I have more to overcome yet.  I have a lot I still turn to instead of Jesus. I pray that I will lay these vices down,  I pray that they won't interfere with the witness I am responsible to provide to the family God has bestowed upon me and the people I am fortunate to meet along the way.  I pray for deliverance in the lives of those who think there is no other way than to 'numb' down and forget how it all feels- I pray you will find your LORD and rely upon His comfort and assurance in times of need. In Jesus Name, amen.

Dearest O, when you read this- I pray you are encouraged by the miracle that is sobriety in life.  While many are capable of having this without reliance upon the LORD, I hope you know that your mother- was not one of them.  Jesus saved me from addiction.  I live in Him to live - period.  I cannot survive this life without His Word, His being and His love for me.  He is my hope for life and for you!  He saved me so that you too, might be saved.  I pray that the LORD I serve - will continuously direct your paths in avoidance of anything as destructive as drug/alcohol addiction.  I pray that one day- sobriety will be the rule and not the exception in the generational line that we carry.  In Jesus Name, amen.

We should not take for granted the mire that our LORD delivers and protects us from.  I am humbled at how often I do...

In His love,