Living With Addiction

Perfect Peace

Day 5 of 40

As I started opening my eyes this morning, I awoke so wrapped in Love that I was able to experience something that I had lost:  Perfect Peace!  You know that peace that develops after you’ve been unraveled by His Amazing Love; you can hear the birds chirping outside while singing along in their joyful rhythm, the world around you seems oddly quiet without cradling fear, and you feel restored, rested and rejuvenated, ready to grasp the changes that new beginnings offer.

What a beautiful way to embrace a new year, new beginnings, and claim the promises that 2016 offers.  It’s time for me to open up the blinds and welcome this new season that is filled with all the warmth of the light radiating from the sun and spend time cuddling His Great Love through trust! 

I survived and severed another layer of my stronghold of fear solely because my faith walk was graced by God’s Great Love and tender mercies leading me to victory!  Living with addiction is just as hard, if not harder, on the loved one’s family as it is for the person battling it. 

Even though it’s hard at times to believe that we’re wrapped in God’s Great Love and the battle is His, especially when we feel defeated and that He is working too slow or not at all, being reminded that we are cradled and caressed by His strong and loving arms when we’re walking out our faith will bring deliverance!

The shock of these relentless storms started desensitizing what a healthy life is meant to live this side of heaven.  God is again renewing and restoring my dead bones that were parched from cruelty with His Living Water!  I forgot how heavy the weight of the chill that came from this dampness was.  Trudging through the dreary swamp lands and not falling into the sinkholes and quicksand was exhausting. 

Today I can feel myself waltzing merrily along as free as one should be when living and dancing with her Teacher, her Father, the One she trusts and loves!  Life is to be sojourned through dance one step at a time.

I can actually say I have no idea how I came through this battle except to praise my Heavenly Father who held my hand and told me not to fear and trust Him as He guided me out of all this aggression and abuse!  I knew I was entangled into their web of destruction, and even though I was on my knees daily in prayer begging for strength and deliverance, I had forgotten what the stings of the deadly Black Widow brought; slow and torturing death.  This battle could no longer be won unless I surrendered waving my white flag!  That’s not defeat, that’s claiming victory at her finest hour!

If God parted the Red Sea for me so I would no longer be a slave to fear and could walk right through it to receive the path of peace and protection, much like he did for the Israelites when they were under attack and fearful for their lives, there is absolutely no reason why He wouldn’t part these raging seas for my loved ones. God parts our Red Seas so we can walk on water while He drowns our fears in His Perfect Love like the beautiful song No Longer Slaves sings!  Hike on that faith walk for six minutes or so and be blessed.

I am still worried and hurting for my loved ones, but I will be spending the weekend with great friends who want to go deeper in our friendships and our faith walks while meditating and reflecting on two of my favorite passages of all time that I share quite often because this is what sustains me and reminds me how wrapped in His Love I am:  Isaiah 41:10-13 and 1 John 4:18.

Won’t you join me in praising God this weekend for His amazing grace and love and hug someone today.  We never know what anyone is battling, and I know I have loved ones out there who could use a hug or two or three! 

See you next week…