Redeeming the Broken Places
Some of us have made some of the worst mistakes of our lives in our teen years - mistakes that will cost us for the rest of our lives, or even cost somebody else for the rest of his life. I guess that is why the Bible refers to this time as "the foolishness of youth".
Kids start down the road of addiction, get killed driving recklessly, or abort a child. Others wind up in prison, marry wrongly and end up divorced, or miss out on God's best, all because of a stupid decision. No wonder it is so difficult for a parent to stand by and watch, often unable to do anything to change a course of action.
In my case, I got "hooked up" with the wrong guy. Jack was a womanizer and a "druggie", but I didn't know that, at least initially. And when I did, I was in too deep, emotionally, to get out. I spent a lot of sorrowful years connected to this guy, but it could have been a lot worse.
Take, for example, the time I met him at his job and he "unloaded" a garbage bag full of pot into my vehicle. I knew what it was. I had been around it enough not to know. But as we talked, my mind wasn't fully in gear, as he casually deposited it in my trunk. After I started home, reality struck me. I was almost panic stricken until I made my destination. What if I were in an accident? What if, for some reason, a patrolmen asked me to pull over and searched my car? I would probably wind up in prison! At the very least, I would have a record. And for what? Although I smoked pot on the weekends, I had never even owned my own stash! In fact, anytime Jack would have chosen to forgo this business, I would have been more than happy. I despised some of his worthless cronies who couldn't even hold down a job. After all these years, I can still clearly "see" the friend who always asked (with eyes half open), "Got any good dope?"
Thankfully, walking away from drugs was one of the easiest things I have ever done. Walking away from Jack was one of the hardest. You're probably wondering why. The answer is simple. Intimacy creates soul ties. Otherwise, that would have been a piece of cake, too.
Eventually, I became pregnant. More ties. By this time, I was a Christian. I hoped and prayed for his salvation and transformation. It never came. I married my husband. Years passed. Due to my son, Josh, I was in touch with Jack.
Then, one day he was confiding in me about his father who was dying of cancer. He was obviously upset. I volunteered to go see his dad and he immediately accepted. You see, his family had no time or need for God up until this dreadful moment, and now they didn't even seem to know where to turn.
At this point in my life, I was going out "soul winning" on a weekly basis, and I was more than happy to make a trek to see someone who might be interested in getting to know my friend, Jesus. And was he ever! When I explained how he could be saved, he flew to his knees, and so did his wife. I had never experienced anything like that in my weekly encounters - people getting saved, yes, but not with that eagerness!
I thought this chapter of my life had been closed long before this event, but apparently not. It wasn't until Jack's father accepted Christ that I finally had complete peace and rest. The pain no longer had any hold on me. It was well worth it. The Lord redeemed it all. To God be the glory!
Kids start down the road of addiction, get killed driving recklessly, or abort a child. Others wind up in prison, marry wrongly and end up divorced, or miss out on God's best, all because of a stupid decision. No wonder it is so difficult for a parent to stand by and watch, often unable to do anything to change a course of action.
In my case, I got "hooked up" with the wrong guy. Jack was a womanizer and a "druggie", but I didn't know that, at least initially. And when I did, I was in too deep, emotionally, to get out. I spent a lot of sorrowful years connected to this guy, but it could have been a lot worse.
Take, for example, the time I met him at his job and he "unloaded" a garbage bag full of pot into my vehicle. I knew what it was. I had been around it enough not to know. But as we talked, my mind wasn't fully in gear, as he casually deposited it in my trunk. After I started home, reality struck me. I was almost panic stricken until I made my destination. What if I were in an accident? What if, for some reason, a patrolmen asked me to pull over and searched my car? I would probably wind up in prison! At the very least, I would have a record. And for what? Although I smoked pot on the weekends, I had never even owned my own stash! In fact, anytime Jack would have chosen to forgo this business, I would have been more than happy. I despised some of his worthless cronies who couldn't even hold down a job. After all these years, I can still clearly "see" the friend who always asked (with eyes half open), "Got any good dope?"
Thankfully, walking away from drugs was one of the easiest things I have ever done. Walking away from Jack was one of the hardest. You're probably wondering why. The answer is simple. Intimacy creates soul ties. Otherwise, that would have been a piece of cake, too.
Eventually, I became pregnant. More ties. By this time, I was a Christian. I hoped and prayed for his salvation and transformation. It never came. I married my husband. Years passed. Due to my son, Josh, I was in touch with Jack.
Then, one day he was confiding in me about his father who was dying of cancer. He was obviously upset. I volunteered to go see his dad and he immediately accepted. You see, his family had no time or need for God up until this dreadful moment, and now they didn't even seem to know where to turn.
At this point in my life, I was going out "soul winning" on a weekly basis, and I was more than happy to make a trek to see someone who might be interested in getting to know my friend, Jesus. And was he ever! When I explained how he could be saved, he flew to his knees, and so did his wife. I had never experienced anything like that in my weekly encounters - people getting saved, yes, but not with that eagerness!
I thought this chapter of my life had been closed long before this event, but apparently not. It wasn't until Jack's father accepted Christ that I finally had complete peace and rest. The pain no longer had any hold on me. It was well worth it. The Lord redeemed it all. To God be the glory!
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