I can relate

                                                               Reflection Post     #2                                                               2-9-11

                I read a book that was written by a woman named Sheila Ray Charles, the daughter of singer, Ray Charles.  She had a tough life, partly because of her childhood.  She got into drugs real bad and went in and out of prison.  She lost her voice from smoking too much crack and eventually lost her kids. This is bad, especially for being a singer which she was, like her father.  Finally, on her last tip to prison she cried out to God, and at that point, God spoke to her and intervened in her life.  He spoke to her and she ended up being saved, which in the Christian faith, it means made new. God restored to her everything she lost in her life and then some.  He freed her from the chains and bonds of drug addiction that held her down for so many years.  He, in time, gave her custody of the children she lost to the system due to her drug use.

                This has had an impact on me because I too, was once addicted to drugs and lost many things in my life.  As an addict I can definitely relate to what she was going through on certain aspect.  I mean she has a more profound story then me, but we all have a story.  What we do share, is the pain and the absolute loss of self control.  The powerlessness we face and the despair we go through, not to mention the people we hurt.  I was also in and out of jail, and made the decisions and choices that made my life the way it was.  We are our own worst enemy.  I went into rehab which was a Christian based rehab.  I found the Lord and ever since, my life has been restored and made new.  I am slowly getting everything back in my life.  Trust, respect, dignity, material objects, and new relationships with women I can call “true friends”.  Her story made an impact on me because if she can go from where she was, then it gives me hope that I can have a better life too.  I can also agree and certainly testify that, it is only through the works of Jesus Christ my Lord that ”ALL“things are possible.