The story...
It's 1981 and I'm living in Knoxville, TN. My new best friend's fiancé is visiting next weekend. He's hanging out in my apartment and says to me: "I might as well do it now rather than wait until she does it." He walks over to my record collection and tosses five or six of them in a pile in the middle of the floor - I groaned with the potential loss of each of them. Yet, my most pain was felt with the AC/DC album Back in Black. My soul resonated with those three chords in... Yes, I agreed that he was right and I later took the long-hard walk to the dumpster and threw them away. His fiancé did visit that weekend, yes I loved her too, and yes she definitely would've thrown those albums away. I would've been powerless to stop her. Yet, I'm glad that my good friend left the trashing process to me.
I still think that that AC/DC album was the best rock and roll album ever written. Just three guitar chords? Does my soul resonate with those songs? Yes! Are, they good for my right and humble walk with God in Christ? No! Have I been tempted to listen to that music since? Yes! Have I always resisted the urge? Mostly... My old-nature is still there, it's been redeemed by the blood of Christ yet still wants to be in control and run apart from the will of God - that's just the way I am.
How and when might we best perform our spiritual and life inventory? We know how hard it is to sort, trash and rearrange stuff that fills up our garages, basements and attics. For me, the deleting of some of the "trash" that my soul likes, wants, and longs for has been an important part of my personal growth and faith walk. The "itches" seem to linger if I routinely scratch them. We take out the regular trash each day but the stuff we've hung onto for too long, that do bring us some kind of comfort, requires something more - surgery. My current "condition" is vastly superior to my old man's natural "condition." I ain't going back and will not bring that crap with me any further.
My friend and his wife are wonderful people who've continued a faithful walk within the good state of Ohio. Ohio is a better place with their family as a part. I hope that visitors to the only church in town will find families like theirs to walk alongside with.
Just for today...
"We learn to face the world as it really is and to take responsibility for our actions. We deal with our feelings and share honestly about our experiences. We learn about ourselves and nurture our spiritual growth and our physical and metal well-being. We become responsible adults." Courage to Change (p. 91)
"Be good to yourself." One Day at a Time (p. 91)
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment