Led astray...

"All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the sins of us all."

--Isaiah 53:6

One of the reasons Todd decided that we should move down here was so that we would be able to help other families like our own.  Granted, not every family is the same and not every addict is the same, but when you have gone through similar situations, there is peace in knowing someone else has been where you are.  Since we have lived here, there have been a couple of people who have come across our path that needed the same grace that we received.  Yesterday, we drove about three hours towards Arkansas to meet up with someone, now our new friend, who had decided to make a change in their life. 

Honestly, once we started heading back down to Fort Worth, I became extremely bitter.  I didn't realize until later that my bitterness was not directed towards anyone but satan.  He has completely captured so many vulnerable people through the power of addiction.  It is disgusting to see how he can make someone believe their life is dependent on everything except the one true GOD that all our lives should depend on.  I was sickened to see how parallel our new friend's life is and Todd's life had been.  The lies, the stealing, the manipulating, the lack of LIFE.  Driving along, our friend kept nodding in and out of consciousness.  As she told us her story, I couldn't believe it.  She has already endured much more than I could ever imagine in her short life.  Todd and I just kept looking at each other.  

It was not a look of annoyance and judgement but a look of...HOPE.  We know there are possibilities for her life.  We know she is beginning her second chance.  We know the pills she had just taken and the cigarettes she just smoked, could be her last...forever.  We know this because we serve a gracious God that will pour out His mercy on her if she will just ask for it.  We know this because it happened to us.  

We can't wait to see the progression of our new friend over the next six months.  God will restore her life, her family, and her health if she will just allow Him to take it over.