Take a good look at this road. Dry and dusty during the summer months, but come winter and into the spring, when the rains came, it turned into a slippery conglomerate of mud and ruts.
This is pretty much what it looked like the first time I drove down it. Didn't know what was waiting for me at the end of this road. Didn't know what I'd find. God knew though. He knew that I would find myself, my purpose in Him. You see, this is the road you turn onto off of Hwy 77 that took you to Rapha. For those who may not be familiar with Rapha, it is a Christ centered drug and alcohol rehab, where I spent the better part of 16 + years as staff chaplain.
How many men turned off onto this road, not knowing that a life change was there waiting on them if they wanted it? That the person who went down this road, had the potential to become a different person....a new creation. How many can I point to that found the change that only God can bring to a life of darkness and destruction? Old dead men drove down that road, and when it was time to leave, new creations went forth back into the world.
I'm reminded of two verses that have stuck with me over the years.
Psalm 77:19 - Your road led through the sea. Your pathway through mighty waters....A pathway no one knew was there! Sometimes the path we find ourselves on may not be the one we would have chosen, but God knows best. Like I said earlier, how many turned off to travel down this road not realizing that the answer to the prayers and cries that had gone up for them, and from them, was waiting. If you've been in recovery for anytime, then you understand the phrase "Higher Power"....well, in our case, the Higher Power has a name, and that name is Jesus.
Hosea 14:9 - Let those who are wise understand these things. Let those with discernment listen carefully. The paths of the Lord are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them. But in those paths sinners stumble and fall.
Here is the hard part. Not everyone who drove down that road did change. Some merely came, marked time, and left in the same condition they came in with. That is the hardest part of me. Some went back out and died. Others went to prison. Still others continued to wander in the darkness of addiction never intending to change.
Such is why there are those who found freedom in Christ continue reaching out to those still trapped. Still searching and looking for those who may have given up on life. This is why we will never stop sharing the message that only Christ is the real answer to your addition. As I've heard it said more than once........"People don't have alcohol and drug problems....these are merely symptoms of something deeper. And that something is a broken relationship with Jesus Christ."
Don't know why I chose to do this post, other than the simple fact that I found the photo and it stirred up all manner of memories in me. I am grateful today that I turned onto that old road. Grateful that God led me to a place called RAPHA.
God on you....
mbb
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