An Abundant Life
August 25, 2005
Life can be difficult. Before I became a follower of Jesus, I had the expectation that if I went to church and was a law abiding, moral person, He would give me a good life....an abundant life. I believed that because it's in the Bible. I translated abundance to mean plenty of the material goods of this world and increasingly less pain, chaos, and overall discomfort. As one friend said, "I expected Jesus to give me a life of increasing ease and convenience. When he didn't I was pissed off at Him and my faith was threatened."
Since I've been faithwalking, I've learned that there is abundance in difficult. Difficult means growth and change and abundance is in that and on the other side of that. So Paul says, "Give thanks in all things" because in part, we can easily focus on the hard stuff and become bitter and negative.
That happens at Harbor. We are doing intentional ministry with two at-risk populations (drug addicts and street kids). And, no way around it, we get burned. Someone comes into our community. We learn to love them. They relapse. And it hurts like hell.
So, it's important to give thanks in all things and to choose to also see and remember the good stuff. Amanda (22 years) and Bailey (14 months) are a part of the good stuff for me these days. This past Friday night, a group of us met to celebrate with Amanda. She's been sober three years and is finding a life in Christ that is A-MAZ-ING.
Amanda and Bailey moved into Yupon House on October 1, 2004. Yupon House is a ministry of Harbor Church that is offered to young girls who have lived on the streets but are looking for a new life in Christ. Loren and Tanya Gardner run the ministry with the help of most of the folks at Harbor's CastleCourt Community.
After the Friday night celebration, Amanda sent several of us an email. Here's what she said.
Wow! Three years has gone by and I am still sober and happy. It is amazing how my life has totally changed. I used to worry about how I was going to get the next line of dope, the next bottle of pills, the next drink, and of course which guy was I going to be with that night. Today I worry about bills, diapers, food, my college classes and saving for the future. What a wonderful life!!!!!!
She went on to say: But I still remember those horrible days like they were yesterday. I was thinking about how I used to cut my arms up completly because I wanted the inside pain to go away. But I never felt the cuts. I was so numb from all the drugs, pain, men, women, sex,abuse, and more. There were times when I wanted to die but I couldn't. I remember the doctors telling me I should have died so many times. That a 72 pound girl couldn't handle all of what I did. I used to think God was torturing me by not letting me die.
She concluded with: Now I look at my beautiful daughter, my family, and my community and know that He just had so much more for me than that. He really does love me. Today has been an emotional day but a happy day as well. I got to spend it with people who know me now - the real me - and who love me. God, thanks for making this possible. Thanks for not letting me die of an overdose, AIDS, gun shots, or other violence. Thanks for loving me when I didn't love my self. You blessed me with a mother who loves me more than life its self. You have blessed me with a community that loves and believes in me. You have blessed me with an amazing daughter. Most of all, You have blessed me with life - Your life. Thank you.
When I finished reading, I pondered these six years in Montrose and at Harbor. They've been the hardest six years of my life . . . and they've been the best. Abundant! Not because they have been easy or convenient - but because as God gave us the power to love, to reach out when we wanted to lash out, to stay when we wanted to run, Amanda and her beautiful baby daughter, Bailey, have a life in Christ. And what she said in her email is that it is difficult - and abundant.
The thief comes to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Jesus, John 10:10