ONE MORE TIME AROUND THAT MOUNTAIN

 

Deuteronomy 2:2
And the Lord spoke to me saying, "You have skirted this mountain long enough, turn northward."

There is an old riddle that I have heard many times that applies to recovery, and it goes like this.

"You have ten birds sitting on a telephone wire....
One decides to leave...
How many birds do you have left?"

Most would answer this riddle by saying," You have nine birds left!" If you answered this way, you are wrong. You'd have ten. The bird only decided...he never actually moved on that decision.

You see, it's easy to decide that you want to recover from your addiction.
It's easy to talk about it with your family and friends. You may even receive some "Atta boy!" from those you let in on your intentions. But the hard core truth is simply deciding to enter recovery really isn't worth anything until you get up and began to the process.

I love the verse from Deuteronomy 2:2. I guess if I were going to translate this verse into redneck, it would say, "And the good Lord spoke to me and said, 'Boy .you've gone around this mountain long enough. You purt near wore out a trail going in circles. It's time to try a different direction."

Isn't that the definition of insanity, when it comes to addiction? Doing the same thing over and over, hoping for a different result?" I think so.

Sometimes I believe we really think we're doing something wonderful when we concoct these hair brain schemes that we really believe are going to help us be sober. Example: We've been on pain meds and weed. They have become our crutch to get us through the day. Suddenly we decide that if we start drinking (just a little) to take the edge off, we can do this recovery thing. Needless to say, I don't have to tell you how this wonderful experiment will turn out. Not good!

As long as we continue to base our actions using addicta-logic, we are simply delaying the inevitable. Truly we do look for the easier, softer way to recovery. Such a path does not exist. There is simply us.....our addiction...and a POWER greater than ourselves who is willing to move us out of the darkness and destruction we have created. If you've been reading the Greene Street Letters for anytime, you know that our POWER has a name, and that name would be Jesus. Simple as that.

If you are struggling with addiction today, I want to encourage you to get up and go to a meeting. If you don't know where any are, then do a word search, if you have a smart phone or computer, and type in "recovery meetings."

These are the beginning steps to a new life. I will not sit here and pretend to tell you that it will all be a bed of roses, but I will tell you that as you put together one sober day after another, you may be surprised at how life really looks. `If I can ever be of assistance, feel free to contact me here in the comment section of this blog. Or you can reach me through my Facebook page. Search for "Michael Bynum" or "Vineyard ReCovery Church". You may also reach me through my email: greenestreet72@comcast.net .

God on you this morning....
michael b.