I hope the new year has been good to you. Personally, I can say it's been fabulous to me. Of course, there are (and always will be) those daily bumps in the road, but all in all, I am so very blessed. ["Thank You, Lord!"]
One thing in particular that I'm especially blessed by is that a few days ago, I received a message from a childhood friend of mine. Not just any friend, but one whom I considered my "best friend" for many years, growing up. She and I went to church together, then later to school together, as well. Her parents were like my 2nd parents. I used to LOVE spending time at her house, when I was little... whether spending the night, or just going home with her after church on Sunday. Sometimes I'd even pretend her family was "my" family.
But anyway, she and I hadn't been in touch for several years. Although I've thought about her so many times, and could very easily have picked up the phone and called her (I still remember their phone number from memory, after all these years... and yes, it's still the same number.), I never did. I suppose mostly out of shame, for some of the roads I've traveled on in the years since I last saw them. I was sure this family whom I loved so, would never have approved of some of the choices I've made in my life. And therefore, they wouldn't want to have any part of me, now. That was my reasoning, atleast.
It's funny that even though I had long since gotten back on the right track, the shame of those past sins still had a way of keeping me from enjoying the abundant life God intended for me. Now I'm reminded of the importance of forgiving ourselves. I was talking with someone about that very thing, just the other day. Of course, at that time, I was encouraging her to do it. I wasn't in any way thinking I needed to apply it to myself, at that time. Isn't it funny how the Lord teaches us things, sometimes? :)
Well anyway, back to my childhood friend... after she had sent me the initial message, I quickly replied. Then she responded again, and again. Before I knew it, we had filled one another in on everything that's happened in our lives, since our last contact with one another. It was wonderful! She was even kind enough to update me on some of our church family, from years ago. I don't mean that she was gossiping... not at all. It wasn't like that. She was just letting me know who was still there, who had moved away, who had passed away, who had gotten married and how many kids they have. It was great to hear this type of update. I'd been away from there for so long, I've often wondered about these folks, whom had meant so much to me in my early years. Now I don't have to wonder. Thanks to my dear friend, I now know.
Sadly, there was also some bad news, amongst the good. My friend's father went home to be with the Lord, early last year. I wish I had known, so I could've been there for her, and the rest of her family, during their loss. I would gladly have gone up and helped out in any way I could.
Then, too, she told me about one of our childhood friends, whom had died of a drug overdose sometime back. That truly breaks my heart! I never would have guessed it, not him. But then, as I think back on my own life, and all the things I got myself entangled with during those "wandering years", I realize how easy it is for one to get off-course. Anywhere the devil can get a foot in the door, so to speak, he will eventually wreak havoc in our lives, if we allow him.
But as I think about our friend who died this way, it makes me all the more determined to help others get the help they so need, when they lose their way. Whether it's drugs, or alcohol, or just whatever their stronghold might be, it's so very important for folks to realize the stem of the problem BEFORE it gets out of hand. We know that satan himself is the stem of the problem, but it's not like he just walks up to our front door and says, "Hi, I'm the devil and I'm here to wreck your life." (If only he would be so upfront!) No, he slithers in, sometimes so discreetly that we don't realize he's even there until he's already done the damage. That's what I want to help prevent!
That's what all of us who work in the RUI program (Reformers Unanimous International Addictions Program) want to prevent, because we know God can (and wants to) deliver us from any and all strongholds! No one has to be bound! There IS a way out of it! That's what our program is all about! And like I said, upon thinking of my childhood friend, who apparently was bound by those chains of drugs, I'm just all the more determined to reach out to those whose lives are being torn apart by satan, regardless of the tool he's using to do it. God can deliver, and He can restore whatever the devil has robbed us of!
You can find a Reformers Unanimous meeting near you, by following the above link. There are over 500 chapters nationwide, and there are already some chapters worldwide.
So anyway, as we begin this new year, I feel more and more drawn to the wonderful verse that I claimed as my very own, when I came back to the Lord in 1997. Sometimes we are held captive by our past sins, not willing to forgive ourselves, where we've erred. But that's not God's Will.
He forgave us, so why should we think we're any more important than Him? We're not!
Praise God for 2 Corinthians 5:17, which says,
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."I can't think of a better new year's blessing than that!
I heard a song on the way to church this morning, one that I used to listen to quite frequently, but had actually "forgotten" about. Anyway, upon hearing it again this morning, I thought it very fitting to add to this post. Please open your hearts to "hear" the words, and be blessed!
There once was a woman who came to a well,
seeking relief for her thirst.
Everyone knew of her bad reputation.
She was considered the worst.
But that day she found more than just water.
She met the "Hope of the World".
She left town with one name,
won't they be surprised at what she says when she returns?
My new name is "Sanctified and Holy"
Just call me the "Righteousness of God"
I'm now known as "New Creation"
My nickname is "Covered by the Blood"
When hell calls me "Bound by my Past"
God calls me "Free at Last"
Nothing's the same, everything's changed
I've got my new name.
My friends used to call me by so many names,
I hardly remember them all.
A "two-fisted drinker", the "life of the party"
were some of the names I recall.
But after I made my trip to the altar,
my old way of living has changed.
I know what I was, but I know who I am
and nothing about me's the same.
'Cause my new name is "Sanctified and Holy"
Just call me the "Righteousness of God"
I'm now known as "New Creation"
My nickname is "Covered by the Blood"
When hell calls me "Bound by my Past"
God calls me "Free at Last"
Nothing's the same, everything's changed
I've got my new name.
(Written by Jeff R. Steele, Recorded by The Steeles, 2002)
Amen!
The kids got to come to church with us yesterday, which was a HUGE blessing. These are the kids I led to the Lord, back in October, but due to their situation at home, they don't get to go to church. So this was an answer to prayer, for me... and for them. Aren't they adorable?
