The Journey

As I look back over the past 15 years, I see so many ways in which I basically prostitued myself to the world. (Of course, I do not mean I was an actual prostitue by trade or by any other means!) I let the world take everything from me. I sometimes gave it freely out of rebellion, out of hurt and frustration, out of the need to feel accepted or part of something. At the end, though, I still felt hurt and frustrated, alone, unfulfilled and now I had an addiction. My drug of choice was alcohol. I would drink for a feeling. Maybe I had a bad day, or maybe I had something to celebrate. I'd end up with a terrible hangover, which of course could only be cured by another drink. Then, I'd drink because I was ashamed I had had so much to drink the night before and I had behaved so badly! Or worse, I couldn't remember what I had done so I had to rely on those drinking with me to piece it back together. I know, stupid, but a very real, a very vicious cycle. I was so asham...

Photo by Allef Vinicius A couple of weeks ago, my friend of 24 years lost her dad to cancer. He lived a few short weeks after receiving the terminal diagnosis. Though I grieved for her loss, this death also stirred up so many emotions in me. Upon hearing the news, my initial reaction was the care and concern for her as I was all too familiar with the pain of such a loss. I wanted my experience to be of comfort and help, but what I did not count on was my reaction to the tragedy. Obviously, I knew this would rub a tender spot in my heart. I did not, however, realize that tender spot was still a gaping hole. Has there been no healing over all these years? When life happens, we realize the depths of unresolved matters, unhealed hurts, unforgiveness, brokenness still left unmended, and what is hidden is painfully brought to light. The death of my father was the catalyst of my derailment from my Christian walk.  Just prior to the total upheaval in my life, I had already begun to dabbl...

Photo by Kyle Sudu For 7 years, I lived in Atlanta, Georgia, with a population of 416,474 (as per the 2000 census population posted by the Mayor's office.) For the first couple of years, I lived right in the heart of Buckhead, sometimes referred to as the Beverly Hills of the East.  We used to say our front door was a revolving one because there were people coming and going all the time. Late-night bar-closers would stumble in at 8 a.m. for a beer and pregame bantering until the bars and restaurants could legally sell booze again around 12:30 in the afternoon.  Our very non-traditional Sunday mornings would involve the early service at one of the most prestigious churches in Buckhead where the pastor told humorous stories about his weekend adventures including one account of the Willie Nelson concert, he attended the night before. Then, we would walk to the trendy eatery around the corner from our house. Finally, after splitting a $12 burger and paying a tab which was usually ...

Vlad Bagacian I picture the journey as a bunch of small parts that make up the whole. Each small part contributing to the overall journey that takes us to our destination. In my research, I looked up the definition of the word journey and found that is defined as "a passage or progress from one stage to another."  For the past two years, my prayer has been to be the person God created me to be. I want to be molded into that person so I may fulfill God's purpose for my life in the earth. I have carried much guilt over the enormous amount of time and energy wasted making my own way and doing my own thing. Imagine my surprise when a guest on the Christian talk show I was watching this morning said, "our journey is to become who we were created to be." Yes, and amen! There is nothing that takes God by surprise and He takes what the enemy means for evil and turns it for my good! He restores my soul! Hallelujah! So, where are we headed on our earthly journey? As Chr...

Photo by Heidi Fin For some time now, I have wanted to share my journey, but I did not have a forum in which to share it. After reading a friend's blog tonight, I became inspired!  The reason I want to tell my story is that I have found myself surrounded by many people, young and old alike, who are making some of the same mistakes I made. I want to scream, "Stop right there! Do not make a move!" I know that seems a bit silly, and well, dramatic. Having spent my entire childhood and early adult years practically living in the church, I know most, if not all, the excuses used to justify bad behavior while praying for mercy and expecting God to clean up the mess. God is merciful; He does often give us multiple opportunities to get it together. However, the U-turns and the long road back can be downright, literal hell. I have heard it said that "when you have walked twelve miles into the woods, even though you have turned around and headed out, you will still have twel...