I couldn’t agree more. I had a lapse in attending church, and had been backsliding for a number of years. I had slipped into heavy drinking and sexual sin trying to numb the pain of everything going wrong in my life and i became an angry person and just didn’t even recognize who I was anymore. I was broken mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. As soon as things began to go wrong in my life satan got a foothold in my life and ran with any and everything he could. This past year just after the first of the year and a major downward spiral I realized my life was like a lake that had a hole punched in it and it was draining and as the water level had dropped, the draining became faster and faster. I needed to change. I went back to church with my wife and kids Easter for the first time in roughly 8 years, I spent 2 months wanting us to go, but I felt a sense of nerves and fear, and felt so lost and shame from the way I had been living. I felt God begging me to go, but felt the enemy attacking. I was trying to find the strength and courage to walk through the doors, and remembered making plans to visit the church and get a lay of the land so to speak and maybe it would help me feel comfortable, and everytime it came time, I would turn away, and I remember on Easter weekend getting out of the car and walking down the breezeway with my wife and kids and feeling the enemy screaming at me “don’t go, you’re not worthy, you’ve failed to much, you’ve messed up too many times, Jesus won’t take you back.” And I remember literally hearing that in my mind. I begin sweating and breathing heavy, and felt an anxiety attack about to begin and feeling so overwhelmed that if I didn’t have my wife and kids I don’t know if I would have walked through the doors. But as soon as I walked through the doors. I felt God open his arms and wrapped them around me and saying “welcome home son, I’ve missed you.” I heard him turn to everyone in heaven and tell everyone “look who’s here! My son has come home!” I’m tearing up just typing this. The parable of the prodigal son is an understatement. And that’s when I felt like the hole in my lake was plugged. I’m feeling the water level in my lake rising again and it’s all because of Jesus! Wherever you are in your walk today, Jesus can plug the hole in your lake as well. You just have to take those steps to him and he will hold you tightly in his arms

@Braelen Poston Thank you Braelen! Praying the same for you and your family!

That’s terrific news!!! I’m looking forward to seeing the development. I will be praying for it, let us know if you need anything!

@Rachel Funderburg thank you! And you definitely are on the right track. Sometimes God lets us get to a low moment in a situation so that we will actively seek him, and you are definitely seeking him! I don’t have a part in running this forum and I certainly do not want to step on any toes, but if you need anything, feel free to reach out! DJ and Braelen are definitely people with lots of wisdom from what I can tell, and I will do whatever I can! Helping each other is why God put us here on earth! God Bless you!

@Rachel Funderburg yes he is very patient! It’s always good to think about it in my own kids as well. There’s plenty of time I feel like I don’t deserve his forgiveness or his patience. Then I think about how it is with me towards my kids. My kids mess up, and I get very annoyed or irritated when they do (especially when it’s the same thing over and over again) but no matter what, it doesn’t change how I feel about them, or and I don’t cast them aside or change anything about my relationship with them. I still love them the same, even if I’m frustrated with what they’re doing or lack of what they should be doing. That’s the exact same relationship that God has with us. He sees us mess up, or turn back to our addictions or make the wrong choices even though we swore up and down we wouldn’t do it again, but he sees our hearts and knows that we want to turn away from whatever is going on in our lives and follow him, but forgives when we mess up. Just like we do with our kids (not sure if you have any or not.) he just has wayyyyy more patience than I have lol.

Welcome DJ!! I’m excited to see where you will help Braelen take this!