All Things Good

Yesterday evening we had a church service – for Easter.  One thing stuck in my mind:

Because of my past, I know what it means to find temporary happiness.  Temporary contentment.  Temporary peace.  I’ve said before that people search for this feeling for most of their lives.  And I agree that, in the beginning, heroin does give you that sense of freedom – for a short while.  And so you chase it.  Non stop.  It’s all you want.  That numbness – that peace… But it’s always short lived.  And it always leads to consequences, or emptiness, or death. 

When, at last, you reach the end of that road, and you let go, and give it all up to Him, you experience freedom to a new extreme.  True, lasting contentment, happiness and peace.  Nothing compares to that first encounter with something so real, so perfect. 

But then life takes a hold of you again.  And somehow, you lose touch of that immense joy that holds your very fibre together.  Why would you want to let go of something so special? Something so fulfilling? Something so perfect? You wouldn’t!  And you shouldn’t!  You should hold onto that with everything that you have!  Because, without it, you are lost.  Without it, everything is temporary.  Without it, you are always chasing something.  You’re never complete.  You’re never satisfied.  You always want more.

It’s easy to let life’s complications grab hold of your freedom, and it’s easy to forget the small things that we should be grateful for.  Once you forget about those small, but very important things – like health, food, a roof over your head, friends and family – you almost seem to take all of them for granted… and soon enough you lose sight of what you have, and all you focus on is what you don’t have. 

Once again, I take a step back, and look at how blessed I am – from waking up in the morning and being able to breath, to having a full tummy after dinner, to my family who have been to hell and back with me, and are still supporting me.  I see that I was lost, and that now I am not only found, but chosen!  I am loved unconditionally no matter what mistakes I’ve made.  How can I not hold onto the freedom that I have been given through the cross, with everything that I have?  I have been given a second chance – we have all been given a second chance – at TRUE life!  A life that lasts an eternity.  That provides peace, love, happiness and all thing good.  Permanently.  Hold onto that! With everything that you have!