God is always moving! I had to share this with you guys because it just shows how magnificent God is, and how if you’re obedient, He will use you in marvelous ways to show His love for us! The quote in my blog title is from the long time poet and lyricist Robert Hunter. His claim to fame would be almost every Grateful Dead song ever played. The reason I chose this verse is because it really sums up what God can do IF WE LET HIM… Some of you may have noticed I left service Wednesday night before Barry had finished his sermon on sowing discord. I absolutely hated to leave, because I always get so much spiritual growth from Pastor Rooster, Amen? However I couldn’t ignore this tug at my heart that God had been putting on me all day. I knew I would be leaving, so I told the team I had a meeting to go to, and so I did! The meeting I went to was a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Before I continue, I need to set up a little background about myself. Some of you may know from my testimony in church awhile back that I am a recovering alcoholic. ‘Recovering‘ means that I will always be an alcoholic, but as long as I am putting God in front of my problem, I never have to take a drink again. Isn’t that awesome? We have a saying in AA: “God brought me to AA, and AA brought me back to God.” AA not only helped me find a relationship with God, it also allows me an opportunity to serve God by helping others who still suffer from addiction and are new to recovery. After all isn’t that what being a follower of Christ is really all about? On to last night. I wasn’t sure which meeting to go to as there are several meetings all over Fort Smith at all hours of the day. A friend suggested I attend the 8 o’clock meeting, so I did. I’ve been to literally hundreds of meetings, but this was one I’ve only attended maybe once or twice. After last night, that is going to change. You see this meeting is one that a youth rehab attends. The rehab center for kids 14 to 17. There were about 30 kids of all ages, (boys and girls alike) in attendance on this night. AA meetings are an open forum, meaning; A ‘Chairperson’ picks a topic for discussion, then the individuals from the group discuss their ” Experience, Strength, and Hope” with one another in order to help each other in their recovery. These discussions are open and very candid. You can hear some pretty amazing stories and some really scary and heartbreaking ones too. You never know what people are going say! But in my experience, when you listen to and share about a common foe, and as a group come together to combat this foe, MIRACLES HAPPEN. The topic of the evening was… Drum roll please…. God! The kids were all talking about their families beliefs, their lives growing up, and how they felt about God. I heard it all from confusion and bitterness to gratitude and hope in their stories last night. One of the boys mentioned you couldn’t see God so it was hard to believe in God, especially after what he had been through! But as God would have it, I was called on to speak. Let me tell you, I still get nervous when I speak at meetings even after all this time. We are dealing with life and death when it comes to addiction. No pressure right? LOL. When I stood to speak, God took my voice and the Holy Spirit witnessed in that dingy little room last night, not Vini. Praise God!As I held back tears, I told these young souls about my salvation! About how God saved me from an alcoholic death. About how His glorious spirit removed the desire to drink or use, and how He has filled my life with his love and awesome power. I don’t remember my exact words, but I KNOW hearts were touched by the Lord that night, because I could see it on their faces and I could feel the goosebumps on my skin as I shared. I told them if you want to see God’s face, all you have to do is look in the mirror! He made us! We are His inheritance! Glory to God for loving us so much that he would give us the Blessing of each other! It is there that you see the face of the one true God. In the faces you fellowship with every Wednesday at Asylum, He is there. I don’t know if even one of those kids will stay clean after they are cleared from ‘Horizon’. But I do know that the Lord planted a seed in their hearts that WILL grow in His time, for His purpose. Let us all be seed planters for God, and kingdom builders! Who knows? Maybe the seed you plant will save someones life, or more importantly their very soul.
In love,
-Vini
