[__ Prayer __] "recovery," growing up

OK. Since I got genuinely saved 5 years ago, I've entered what is called the "recovery phase" in todays mental health world. Good enough, I guess, except...people don't generally "recover" from my own sins and things that were done to me. So...God is good, clearly.

My parents are spending more time with me, which is another miracle. I'm learning how to -do- things, for the 1st time in a long, long time. The Lord has blessed my parents and blessed me, also, and I"m thankful.

I see now...something, you can't change. Around here, I was (am?) expected to "know his place," etc. Now, my parents have higher status, more resources, etc., so...I'm not respected, not well-liked, but when push comes to shove...I get more "breathing room." Again; file this one under "God is good!"

CS Lewis wrote something to the effect that unrepentant sinners are more or less all alike, but Christians are unique. When I was in and of the world, I was another lost soul, big deal. Burn outs, losers, dried out junkies...dime a dozen in modern America.

Now that Jesus has saved me, I have a testimony of His incredible work in my life, over only 5 years. Of course, I'm a work-in-progress; every Christian is, that goes without saying. But...

I get the sense that I get to genuinely, truly, grow up, mature, the right way, this time around. No drugs, no drinking, no crazy prescriptions, no faux "friends" who aren't really friends, at all. God is good!

OK. The community around me may never change, probably won't change that much. Maybe one day The Lord will bless me and I'll be able to move away and not come back. Or maybe...not. I don't know, honestly. I -do- know that God is good (all the time), and that I wasn't good, before Jesus saved me, and whatever I may have had to start out with, sin+satan+self+death+the world took away. I mean, I lost things I didn't even know I had, until they were gone.

Now? Healthy, "higher IQ," etc. Family reconciliation (priceless). A heart of flesh, not of stone. A moral compass.

I praise God for His goodness.

The wonder of Christianity, is not only the wonder of God's love, expressed on a Cross, and offered to the ungodly as God's own righteousness, (thats a wonder)..... but its also a wonder to be saved for a long while, then look back on the change that has occurred in your life and in you.
Christianity, (Christ in us) produces change, just as surely as Jesus's Blood forgives our sin.

thanks. my online class starts next monday. I should get some kind of pre-official access before then, so I can start scanning the material. always a good idea.

Its just...wow...God -is- Good! There was 0 hope for much of anything good in my life. Part my own sins, part...just the way the world works, I guess. Happens.

Now...I've been saved 5 years, I'm completely different, and there's hope for me in Jesus...and, thru Him, there seems to be more hope in this lifetime, too.

thanks for the prayers, replies, etc.

Christ_empowered said:

God -is- Good! There was 0 hope for much of anything good in my life.

Click to expand...

Brother Christ_empowered, God having given you a measure of faith (Rom 12:3) was just the beginning of the product of hope we read of in Heb 11:1. Your five years are not in vain as you increase in the faith and hope, the result of the Holy Spirit leading you into all truth. Jn 16:13.

me (yes, yes; again, LOL).

Forgiveness is the -big- thing, of course. Being forgiven,washed and made clean, put in right standing with God the Father. I am fond of the Pentcostal-ism that "salvation is for the -whole- person," even though I know that works out differently in different peoples' lives.

In my life, after only 5 years, I get the sense that...I've largely been redeemed, and more redemption, more reconciliation, is forthcoming, becoming of Christ's work in my life. I know I keep talking about the "high(er) IQ estimate," but its not really bragging. I mean, I don't even have one of those j-o-b things I keep hearing about. Its just...well, a return to the 120 I started with would have been a miracle, but to be brought up above that...its like The Lord is going out of His way to show forth kindness and mercy, make me "get" that He's in the restoration business, plus...at a practical level, "high(er) IQ" estimates don't guarantee succes (at.all...), but they do correlate well with writing ability and academic performance. Guess who always wanted to be a writer and go back to school?

I do wonder (in many, many posts...) about the whole "mental illness" thing. No big shakes, I guess. I"m blessed to receive disability and have my parents solidly behind me, despite everything. I get a low, low co-pay on my prescriptions, and I'm down to -2- daily psych drugs, both of which are now generic. I also do the "Orthomolecular" thing, which...seems to help with anxiety and agitation, and I don't have tardive dyskinesia or anything, so..I suppose it helps, in those areas. Plus, I do seem to get more "mileage" out of my 2 drug combination. Lots of people with "Bipolar I" and "Bipolar I w/psychotic features" end up on many daily drugs, which causes its own set of problems. I'm on 2, I respond well, and...that, I guess, is a big, big leap forward towards "recovery from severe mental illness."

God is good! At this point, my parents trust me enough to have me live with them, and they're teaching me basic things I'll need to know to live on my own, one day. I'm not miserable, trapped in Self like when the label was "severe narcissim" (NPD), I don't drink or do drugs, I'm not heterosexual, but I"m not actively involved in anything homosexual, so...

God has blesed me with a lot of things, including a measure of self-control that was sorely lacking in years past. I"m thankful.

OK. I'll fnish it up right about.....now.