Yesterday was an amazing day. The counseling sessions went well, but even more was last night’s Celebrate Recovery meeting. There were 3 new men who came and I was the one to spend the last hour with them in what we call the 101. This is the introduction to CR and all that it can offer someone. The last part of the hour is spent with the leader sharing briefly their story and asking the newcomer/s to share what brought them that night to the degree they are willing. My goodness, all three of them opened up and we were there beyond the hour. All three had intense stories very different from each other, but all seeking help coming out of their powerlessness (lesson 2) and hiding the problem as though it didn’t exist (lesson 1). I pray they will stay committed to this. It is so easy to step back into “I can do this on my own–I don’t need to share my burdens with the world and then reap the consequences of its judgment”. I sure know this for I practiced it for almost 60 years.

I am reading a book I ordered when I was with the kids in Oklahoma. My son-in-law told me he was going to be using it for the content of his Sunday School class he teaches. The book’s title is, What’s so Spiritual About Your Gifts? It is written by Henry and Mel Blackaby. I’ve read many of their works and I respect them a great deal. What was a big awakening for me is the statement made early in the book. It says, “Believers often ask each other what their spiritual gift is. The true answer to that question is this: The Holy Spirit is the gift.” We so often talk about the fruits of the Spirit being the gift/s. However, the true gift is God’s Holy Spirit Himself. The fruit is the manifestation of God’s Spirit within us. It is God’s Gift to us at work in us as we obey His nudges. It is a simple, yet profound truth which I want to spend more time awakening to.

God is never done growing us. I will never be too old to be a student of the Greatest Teacher!