Lent Day 13

Happy St. Patrick's Day.  A holiday primarily devoted to drinking will surely test this alcoholic on a day of cleansing.

2 Timothy 2:20-21 says, "In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work."

I find this appropriate because during this Lenten season we are cleansing ourselves of the garbage in order to prepare ourselves for God's special purposes.  This should not only be in our diet and physical health but in the attitude we take and our spiritual health.  Let's try to get the garbage out of our attitude today.

Today's Focus: There are many addictive prescription drugs available.  One of the most "interesting" (maybe curious, or unexpected) is the anti-depressants.  Antidepressant drugs don't cause the addictions that you get with tranquillisers, alcohol or nicotine, in the sense that: you don't need to keep increasing the dose to get the same effect and you won't find yourself craving them if you stop taking them.  However, a third of people who stop taking anti-depressants experience side-effects of withdrawal, including but not limited to: vivid dreams or nightmares, flu-like symptoms, anxiety, and sensations in the body that feel like electric shocks.  These side effects, maybe with the exception of electric shocks, certainly remind me of the withdrawal during the initial sobriety of many of my own addictions.

Today's positive action: Find a daily devotional that makes sense and/or speaks to you.  Getting a new perspective on the bible is priceless opportunity to see and learn God's message for us.

Dear Lord.  Help us be honest with you.  Our relationship with You depends entirely on our honesty.  As addicts we become great liars.  We cover things up to everyone including ourselves.  We know we can't hide anything from You but we constantly try to fool ourselves.   In this age of distraction, we become distracted from the truth.  We get distracted from what's important - and only serves to cause us stress and divert our energy.  Help us concentrate and focus on what's important: our relationship with You, our relationship with our families, and our relationship with ourselves.  Help focus on being honest about our addictions. Let this honesty be cleansing, in such a way that, like in 2 Timothy, that it prepares us to do Your work.  Amen.

Thanks for letting me share.