There’s a bunch of really, and I mean REALLY cheesy sayings out there. You’ll find them on “inspirational” memes, kitchen plaques, removable vinyl stickers in people’s houses, tee shirts, coffee mugs, bumpers of cars, etc…
They read things like “Too blessed to be stressed” or “Live, Laugh, Love” and occasionally you’ll come across the motherload of cliche sayings “It’s not the number of breaths we take, but the number of moments that take our breath away.” Terrible, I know.
The thing about these little quotes is, they are usually all true. I’ve done a lot of changing over the years. I changed my behaviors. I’ve changed how I dress. How I cut my hair, how I speak. I have changed where I say I’m from. I changed how I view people and how I view God. I have changed what my definition of happiness is and I have changed what I put value in. I changed the type of people I choose to be around, what I think about myself, how smart I think I am, my openness to seeking guidance and direction. I have changed how responsible I am. I have changed how honest I am and I have changed how I talk about people. I have changed my understanding of how to resolve conflict and how I give and receive love. There’s a long list of how I have changed. Disclaimer: There’s also a decent sized list of how I haven’t, I’m a work in progress.
I have also changed how I view the validity and merit of the cheesy, cliche saying “Nothing short of a miracle.”
I have gone into great detail about who I was as a father before I got sober. The years that my eldest son was alive until he turned 7 years old. I was a monster. An abuser. An absentee dad. A complete loser. My son has every reason in the world to hate me. To never forgive me. He has every reason to never speak to me again and if he chose that, I would have to take it on the chin and deal with it.
In fact, that is how I planned on my sobriety going. I thought that I wouldn’t have an opportunity to really parent him daily. Maybe like every other weekend I could see him or something. I decided to get sober and seek God despite these possibilities.
Once I made that decision, the decision to get close to God strictly because God is good in every way, despite what I may want in life…I believe God performed something that was nothing short of a miracle. Not only did God change me almost completely in many ways, but He also appointed me to be a trustee for one of His kids. That in itself was miraculous enough.
Trust me.
He then went further. He gave me the wisdom, the love, the kindness, the softness, the patience, the determination, the guidance, the hustle, the lack of desire to ever drink or use drugs again…and He gave all that to me so that I could show my son what God could do and who God is. He changed me so that I could be a daily example of how big God truly is.
The relationship I have with my son today is nothing short of a miracle. It is a tangible example of how God has the absolute power to heal. To mend relationships. To shape people. To provide the power to love again.
Acts 3:16
By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.
It is a blessing to receive a miracle and Jesus knew you were one who deserved it. God gave us his only begotten son and God chose you to give a second chance to . He loved you enough to show you what faith can do.Within that miracle, he also graced you with the gifts you mentioned above, to be an example of his grace. I love you my son and always will.