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| The Journey--Day 1,046 |
morning, I started my routine, pulling out my journal, ready to start jotting my thoughts down. Being the type who loves to record history, I begin each journal entry by citing the date and time:
Wednesday, June 3, 1015 -- Day 1,046
7:20 a.m.
For some reason, when I recorded the "Day"--Day 1,046--I paused. Day 1,046 marks the one-thousandth, forty-sixth Day of the Journey with Christ.
It was 1,046 days ago yesterday that I'd hit bottom. Not in a literal sense as in lying in an alley somewhere, destitute and rummaging through garbage for food. I mean I spiritually bottomed out.
I remember the day well. It was the end of May, 2012. The second anniversary of my divorce was just a few months away, and everything inside me was dead. My work in the prison ministry was rare and routine; I was drinking too much; I was struggling daily to work on the book, Rescued Not Arrested. The book didn't even have a title at the time. It was a blur; a concept; random files on a hard drive. Every morning I would drag myself to the keyboard, coffee cup in hand, and write in a hang-over haze. I could barely able make the words out on the screen as I typed, the clicking of the keyboard sounding like cannons exploding in my ears, reverberating the swollen blood vessels of my brain against the cranium walls.
I was a mess.
The Arizona summer was fast approaching, the weather tipping on the verge of triple digits. Mid-morning I was at the at the office, staring at the computer screen. My cubicle walls were closing in on me. The ringing phones roared in my head. I needed to get out.
The weather was nice enough to take a stroll to the park near the office. I sat on a bench at the bend in the running track. Out on the track was a lone runner, finishing his jog, now stretching and finishing his exercise routine. I'd never seen him there before. The track is usually busy with people I recognize--fellow employees taking a mid-morning break to stroll or jog the track.
My Spirit was downcast. I sat there for a long time, trying to pray, but the words wouldn't come. Suddenly, over my shoulder I heard someone way, "You need prayer, don't you?"
I looked up and saw it was the jogger. I wasn't in the mood for company. Not from friends or acquaintances--and certainly not from a complete stranger. But I heard myself say, "Yeah.".
He sat down on the bench and put his arm around me and prayed. He really didn't have much more to say after his prayer. He just bid me blessings in a perfunctory voice and left with a smile on his face.
I am certain he was an angel.
God's Word promises in Hebrews 13:2, "Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it". I have no hard evidence to confirm his angelic credentials, but I as I got up to head back to the office, I felt my Spirit slowly begin to rise. Also, I had never seen him there before--and have never seen him since.
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| God's Phone Number: "Call on Me and I will answer you..." |
I suddenly felt that this was not just a call to listen to Him. This was an invitation. An invitation to start a Journey with Him.
I felt a conviction from Him that morning. Jesus pointed out to me this was our 30th anniversary together. Thirty years ago in 2012, I had given my life to Him. But those 30 years had simply been a walk. Sometimes a stroll. Other times a snooze.
This time, He was revealing to me that life with Him is intended to be an exciting journey!
And so I marked in my Journal:
The Journey:
Day 1
And I wrote: "Life with Christ is an adventure--a journey. I am marking this date as a new phase in my life--titling the next series of journal entries, 'The Journey'."
The Journey over the last 1,046 days has gone through many phases and at many times has been far from perfect. But the Journey marked my surrendering all of my battles to God. I reinvigorated my jail ministry, set an aggressive writing schedule, and entered a recovery program. I now have a good measure of sobriety behind me, received a promotion at work, and am surrounded by awesome warriors in Christ's army. Most notably, on November 18, 2012, I sent the following text to my best friend:
The manuscript, Rescued Not Arrested, was finished. By Fall of 2014--October 22, 2014 to be exact--I reached my dream of becoming a published author!
The good news is, after 1,046 days, the Journey is just beginning.The better news is--it's an eteral Journey.
Are you ready to begin your journey with Christ? Are you ready to surrender your goals, desires, talents, and ambitions to the One who promises in Psalm 139:16 "all the days ordained for (you) were written in (His) book before one of them came to be"?
In his book, The Circle Maker, Pastor Mark Batterson quotes his grandmother who used to say, "You can't always sometimes tell."
The journey with God is full wonderful surprises--anything can happen! I hope you are ready to begin your journey today. Try it--you can't always sometimes tell...
And when you hit those mile markers and want to share your success text, feel free to share with us here on this blog or with my at joe@hjosephgammage.com
Enjoy the Journey--bon voyage!
Need to talk to one of those warriors about now
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