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Coming up on 8 years sober and this is what fun looks like. There was a time I honestly couldn’t have imagined having a good time without alcohol. I was deceived and enslaved. But when the kindness and love of my Savior appeared, he saved me, not because of righteous things I had done, but because of his mercy (Titus 3). A holiday that used to mean getting as wasted as possible now means kids, friends, games, pizza, balloon countdowns, sparkling cider toasts at midnight, having my full faculties to enjoy it all. It’s good to be free. He redeemed my life from the pit and crowned me with love and compassion. He satisfied my desires with Good Things (Psa 103). The biggest lie I ever believed was that the world would make me happy, getting away from the “rules of religion,” being “free to do what I want.” Jesus is freedom. The hard things I have fearfully “given up” for him have always been shown to be the chains that held me. He always has something better for me than the things I fear to give him. That’s not me being spiritual or trying to be better than anyone. It’s just the wonderful firsthand truth of my real life! Trusting him, following him, is a lifelong process and I am far from doing it perfectly. I am quite a mess about quite a lot of things. But I reflect on where I’ve come from, where he’s led me, and any good there is today, he gets all the credit. Here’s to more trust, more reliance, more wanting what he wants. He’s a good, good Father. He never gives up on us. Ever. He makes all things beautiful in his time. He has a good plan. He never changes. He is available to us all. He loves me. And you.
Happy 2016!!