ROOTED RENEGADE

The song “Come As You Are” by Crowder takes on a whole new meaning to those in recovery. First it you have never listened to it, my suggestion is to pull up Spoitfy or Pandora and listen to the song before reading further.

Many of us throughout the course of our lives have been broken by the people we love the most. Those meant to protect us did not have the capacity or knowledge to carry out the mission set before them and we held them to a standard we ourselves did not fully understand. Growing up as children we expected our parents to be loving, nurturing, exceptional human beings without flaws never grasping they would have pasts of their own that could potentially get in the way of their raising us in the manner we had invisioned in our minds. During our formative years, many of us suffered great loss, some of us severe abuse and some neglect. While some had addict and alcoholic parents who were absent during parts of are lives thereby never showing us how to be a functioning adult. All of this set us up for our later years even though we did not understand that as children. All we knew is that we wanted mommy and daddy to love us unconditionally, not stay mad at us, like our projects from school, treat us with kindness and so forth.

As we grew into adults ourselves we searched for these very things in other people and expected them to give it to us never realizing that it was never theirs to give. Damaging love before it had a chance to blossom while destroying our self worth, our self esteem, and our perception of life as a whole. We placed blame on those who deeply wounded our souls yet our blame was often misplaced unbeknownst to us. Some of us tried counseling to try to save marriages and made great attempts, but never could figure out why it was not working. Some of us tried church, but yet again the void was still there and the hurt we felt so deep inside was growing.

Many of us took to bottles, pills, needles, stems, straws, and the like, trying every drug that came our way just to numb what we felt inside because if a counselor couldn’t save us and God was not listening then what was the point of feeling anymore. Some took to the streets trying to fill the void with meaningless relationships hoping someone could fix them, save them from their destruction to no avail. Years spent living in the toilet of life, drowing in sorrows of shame and guilt, condemnation and rage, still not understanding that our answers were within our grasp we were just looking in the wrong places.

It was not until everything was lost, every person we loved, everything we owned, our dignity, self respect, and freedom that many of us came to the realization that we were to busy looking down for every answer we sought instead of looking up. We blamed God for all our misfortunes, our heartaches and our losses. Distant and disconnected from His love we couldn’t find our way to Him if we tried, that is until we were empty within ourselves. Nothing left to give or to gain.

It is only in our brokenness that we begin to look towards the cross where the Savior gave His life in exchange for ours that we begin to see that we don’t have to keep looking for what we did not get as a child in a fallen world in broken people. A blameless, sinless man who took on the sin of a fallen world so that we did not have to live a life full of sorrow and hurt but could come to him EXACTLY AS WE ARE and recieve GRACE, MERCY, and UNCONDITIONAL LOVE and ACCEPTANCE.

All of us who wandered so far from what He created us to be can get back to that person by laying down our guilt, burdens, shame, and condemnation for the things we have done and failed to do in life and find that person again. People cannot fix us, they can’t stitch us back together with good intentions. Only Yahweh can heal our inner most hurts and take the pain and turn it into something so beautiful we will never be able to fathom the depths and possibilities.

Genesis 50:20 “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

©B3autifullyR3deemed2018

Come As You Are by Crowder

“Come out of sadness from wherever you’ve been
Come broken hearted let rescue begin
Come find your mercy
Oh sinner, come kneel
Earth has no sorrow
That Heaven can’t heal
So, lay down your burdens
Lay down your shame
All who are broken
Lift up your face
Oh wanderer, come home
You’re not too far
So, lay down your hurt
Lay down your heart
Come as you are
There’s hope for the hopeless
And all those who’ve strayed
Come sit at the table
Come taste the grace
There’s rest for the weary
Rest that endures
Come as you are
Fall in His arms
Come as you are
There’s joy for the morning
Oh sinner, be still
Earth has no sorrow
That Heaven can’t heal”

©Crowder