Chris was learning, but continued to run life his own way – until, as he put it, “some very specific and selfish prayers were perfectly answered.” Chris now understood that even getting exactly what he wanted didn’t make him happy.
He described this point in his life as both extreme disappointment and extreme relief. All his struggles had been fruitless and his priorities miscalculated. He began rethinking his idea of fun, even the whole reason for his very existence. Life got easier once he accepted how powerless he was and that he had no control. “I had to LET GO, and understand that my separation from peace was a thinly constructed wall of own design,” is how he put it.
At that point, coming to Helping Up Mission was an easy decision for Chris. Leaving behind what little he had acquired was no problem. But once here, he found a whole new set of challenges. He said, “The difficulty of learning to adapt to an ever changing social environment where I rarely get my way, and accepting that hard work and denying my natural impulses on a ongoing basis – with the help of my Lord – is the only way to achieve anything meaningful.”
Today Chris is growing. He feels he has the abilities to be a leader and the responsibility to “let the light within me shine for the benefit of those around me.” He wants to be a positive role model and a source of encouragement to others. Chris believes his experience as an intern “with God in my corner, will help me maintain a consistent and positive work ethic without using drugs. I have no more excuses and the pity party has ended. We will see what I can accomplish when self is out of the way.”
I like how he thinks and I can’t wait to see what will happen, too.
One new life at a time,
Pastor Gary Byers
Spiritual Life Director