The Journey

I read recently that 60 million Americans have been affected by identity theft. Sixty million. Here is some perspective. The state of California, the most populous state in the U.S., has a recorded population for 2018 of just under 40 million. Victims of identity theft have reported feelings of loss, devastation, stress, anxiety, fear, and thoughts of suicide. Now, there are 240 million Christians in the U.S. as is documented by Wikipedia. How many of the 240 million would you guess has suffered from some form of identity theft? Consider Jeremiah 1:5 which tell us before we were conceived, we already had an identity. "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you." Source Unknown As I look back over my life, there is a definitive pattern of morphing from one personality into another.  Through subtle undertones or blatant criticisms, I allowed others to not only take my identity but to obliterate it. I experienced those same emotions of devastation, stress, anxiety, fear, and so...

Imagine for a moment being wrapped in total darkness. The smell of smoke  from all that has been reduced to ashes  lingers in the air.  Simultaneously, you feel the heat of your surroundings and the coldness of isolation .  Everything that once was is no longer. Imagine rummaging through the darkness trying to salvage anything of value.  Frantically searching for something to cling to, anything with an inkling of security, you lose your footing as your very foundation crumbles under your feet. Life has spontaneously combusted. Suddenly, you have lost the sense of safety because everything that was secure and steady has now gone sideways.   When complete devastation has become your reality, you s it head in hands with no audible words but crying out from the depths of your inner being. "God, help me!" How can something beautiful emerge from these gray, smoldering ashes? God often gives us answers in the natural to things that occur in us either physically,...