Do You Know What It Is?

There it is!  Can you feel it?  I can!  Every year no matter how early or how late it may fall, this always seems to happen.  Raining or sun shining, it still happens.  Do you know what it is?  Are you sure you don't know?  Think really, really hard.  There you are remembering aren't you?  I can see it in your eyes, you know now what I am talking about, no?

Okay, I will tell you, Easter!  Now remember?  Every year, early or late, doesn't matter, we always have a 'cold' snap.  Remember now?  Yea, that's right, Easter cold snap!!  See, I knew you would remember.  Easter sometimes comes in March and then it may come in April.  Year to year, it will come at a different time, in a different month, but the cold snap, always comes with it.

Easter, what a wonderful time.  If you don't know about Easter, then hold on tight.  Easter marks the morning that Jesus arose.  He had been hung on the cross and then placed in a tomb where the entry was closed with a huge stone.  Then, that morning, that glorious morning, it happened.

The stone was moved.  How could that be?  The stone was too heavy, too heavy for one person or even for  several people to move.  But yet, there it was, pushed aside.  Out of the way.  And the tomb, empty!  Yes, that's right, empty!  But how, how could this be?  Seriously, how?  If you know then you know how and if not, then you can learn how.

Easter morning, how beautiful and glorious a morn it is!  Jesus was placed on the cross.  He died for your and my sins.  He died so that we could be free.  So that all of our sins would be washed away.  He is a gift.  What a wonderful gift?  A promise, all we have to do is say 'yes, this is what I want and I believe.'  He is giving us the gift of everlasting life.  All we need to do is accept that gift.  It is that easy.

Jesus died and then on Easter morn, He arose.  By that He set God's promise in motion.  He arose so that we may have everlasting life.  Life after death.  Isn't that wonderful?  All we need do is accept His gift and life can be wonderful.

Today, I am so very thankful that many years ago I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior.  That He died for my sins and that because of His unselfish act, I will have life eternally.  As some do, I lost my way.  I turned away from Jesus because I was ashamed of my actions.  I know that even though I had turned away from Him, He did not turn away from me.  The Bible tells me what He did.  The poem 'Footprints' also tells me exactly what He did.  He carried me until I was able to walk with Him again.

There were days toward the end of my active addiction that I prayed "God, please, please just take me out of this misery!  Just let it all be over!  I can't go on like this anymore."  He answered my prayers!  He heard me and took me out of the hell I was living, the hell that I was putting myself in.  He touched my heart and lead me out of the darkness.  He has seen fit to allow me time to heal and now to grow in His care and no one else's.  Through Him I live again.

Doing my best to be the person He needs me to be, wants me to be, gave me His grace to be.  His will is what I do today, to the best of my ability.  I reach out to those who have lost their way.  Maybe to someone that has not yet accepted Him as theirs.  To people just like me.  God loves me!  God loves you!  He has given 'all' of us this gift, this precious gift that only He could give.  It is so simple yet complex.  All we need to do is accept His gift, accept that He died for all our sins and let Him into our lives.  That's all.  I live for Him today above and beyond anything else in my life, He comes first!  As with my recovery, anything and everything that I put before Him and my recovery I will lose!!!  I know this to be true and real today.

My life may not seem that exciting or glamorous, but it is so loving and caring and the gratitude that spills over to others.  Accepting and asking God into your life is simple.  Stepping into and living a life lead by God is simple.  Stepping into and leading a life in recovery is simple.  Knowing what a life in addiction can do to a person verses what a life in recovery and having God present in my life there is only one clear choice.  'All things are possible through Jesus Christ.

My wish for all this Easter weekend is that if you don't know the joy and love of Jesus that you find it.  If you are in the depths of active addiction that you find God's grace and love to pull yourself out and live the life that He would have you live.  That you give your life to Christ, spread His love to others and really LIVE!  Life is a wondrous gift and the love God has for us all is wonderful and His grace is loving.

May God bless you and keep you in all that you do.  Happy Easter to all and may today be a turning point in your life to pull you out of whatever hell you are in and put you in the light of God and on the path He has laid out for you.  I love you all and pray that each and everyone of you know the love and grace that I know God gives.

Love you all!!  God bless!!!