On a Long Bus Ride to Nowhere

The other morning, I reflected back on a time when I felt emotionally, mentally, and spiritually ripped to shreds. Have you ever experienced a similar moment in your life?

A heated argument had broken out between me and my father. I wound up packing a bag and hitchhiking to the nearest bus station with nowhere really to go.

I was headed to Nashville via a short stop in Alabama, somewhere between Florence and Muscle Shoals. I had no real plan. I had no idea of what I would do once I got there.

This happens all the time in America. It’s how young men and women find themselves lost on the street. Nowhere to go. No one to catch them.

One thing leads to another. You’re just trying to survive. Before you know it, you’ve lost any semblance of who you are, much less of who God purposes you to be. You’re about as disconnected and discombobulated as it gets. You’re living in the Great Upside Down.

At the height of my adiction, my friends Breeze and Cherie noted that I no longer had a conscience. I had broken through to the other side and they weren’t sure I would find the exit door. “Froggy’s lost any sense of boundaries. He no longer sees the lines,” I overheard them whisper. “He’s gone completely over the edge,” the two concurred.

Truth is I’ve never met an addiction I didn’t like.

“Don’t mind me. I’m just here for the party.” I grinned. I had no idea that the rollercoaster ride was just beginning. None of us did.

A few decades later, some of us survived. The list of those who didn’t grows longer every day. A couple of us found the exit door leading us away from the road of addiction to the path of recovery.

By the grace of God, I am one.

Today, I am grateful that I am clean and sober.

What are you grateful for?

If you want to end 2022 on a positive note, then perhaps you will consider finding several things you are grateful for each day, through December 31. You can either write them down, or simply say a prayer of thanks. Gratitude helps us to keep the love of God and His Word abiding in our hearts.

Gratitude Challenge for 2022, Bridget A. Thomas

I pray this post resonates with you. Please feel free to leave a comment below.

Blessings,

The Devotional Guy™