Walking the path.

[stradial]

I don't think I've made any secret that in my past, I have...strayed from the "good" path, shall we say.
In fact, at times I was so deep in the woods that the path was just a distant memory.
Right at 22 years ago, after being as broke, monetarily. spiritually (which would include morally) and physically as a person can just about get, I had a life changing experience that lead me try and walk the "good" path.
I mention this because due to another thread, I was reflecting about my life now and my past.

I do not know why I am the way I am, where most of the time I have to be slapped in the face, several times, before I decide that this may not be the way to go.
I was taught the basic way to go down the "right" path, yet I chose to wander off into the woods, looking for whatever those woods might hold.
(Lions and Tigers and Bears..Oh My!)

Finally I was beaten into submission and yet, at the state when most people would gladly admit that they needed to change, I still felt I knew best.
Even when I met some people that said, "If you follow our path, you will have everything you ever wanted in life" and I believed them, I told myself, "Well I may not do it, after all it does require me to change my beliefs".
How sad and dumb is that?

The bottom line of this train of thought is this, some people are like me, they have to hit their head against the brick wall, time and time again, before they will even consider that they is a better way.
Even when they have seen the results of that better way.

Others are like my mother, who when shown the better way, at a young age, said, "This looks like a better way. I think I will follow this path.", and stayed with it.

Sadly there are a few who are like myself, except they never get tired of beating their head against the wall and sometimes they die while trying to run through it.

This thread is just some random thoughts about my life and the way that I had to find my way back to the path.

 

[J-man]

Your story is probably more familiar to many of us than we would like to admit. To err is human, to continue in err is being a man. It wasn't enough to discover fire, we had to keep putting our fingers in the flames to show each of our family and friends it was hot.

 

[Guard Dad]

My faith in God is rock solid, though admittedly my obedience is sometimes lacking.

My approval of organized religion is what is not as strong as it once was. Though I am an active member of a church, and a good church I will add; I have some problems with churches in general. And they all boil down to people in the church.

I forget who said it, but the quote "I have no issues with Christ, it's Christians I don't like" comes to mind. Though it uses a brush too broad, I do understand the sentiment behind it.

Don't get me wrong, I still believe that Christians should go to church and worship together. I just wish churches would use better judgement when selecting leaders, and remember the real reason for having church. Almost everyone I know who is or was a "church person" has stories of how they were screwed over, lied to, or just treated poorly at church. It shouldn't be like that.

 

[ShoeDiva]

My faith in God is rock solid, though admittedly my obedience is sometimes lacking.

My approval of organized religion is what is not as strong as it once was. Though I am an active member of a church, and a good church I will add; I have some problems with churches in general. And they all boil down to people in the church.

I forget who said it, but the quote "I have no issues with Christ, it's Christians I don't like" comes to mind. Though it uses a brush too broad, I do understand the sentiment behind it.

Don't get me wrong, I still believe that Christians should go to church and worship together. I just wish churches would use better judgement when selecting leaders, and remember the real reason for having church. Almost everyone I know who is or was a "church person" has stories of how they were screwed over, lied to, or just treated poorly at church. It shouldn't be like that.

I like the saying: Just because you are in a church does not make you any more Christian than being in a garage makes you a car.

 

[mei lan]

My faith in God is rock solid, though admittedly my obedience is sometimes lacking.

My approval of organized religion is what is not as strong as it once was. Though I am an active member of a church, and a good church I will add; I have some problems with churches in general. And they all boil down to people in the church.

I forget who said it, but the quote "I have no issues with Christ, it's Christians I don't like" comes to mind. Though it uses a brush too broad, I do understand the sentiment behind it.

Don't get me wrong, I still believe that Christians should go to church and worship together. I just wish churches would use better judgement when selecting leaders, and remember the real reason for having church. Almost everyone I know who is or was a "church person" has stories of how they were screwed over, lied to, or just treated poorly at church. It shouldn't be like that.

I like the saying: Just because you are in a church does not make you any more Christian than being in a garage makes you a car.

Amen to all the above.

 

[mei lan]

This thread is just some random thoughts about my life and the way that I had to find my way back to the path.

I love that the Lord is merciful and longsuffering. And He loves when we want to do right. He knows how frail we are, so our weaknesses do not catch Him by surprise.

 

[stradial]

There are wonderful, good people in church every Sunday, good examples of what Christ taught.
A lot of those people started young in church, saw that it was the better way, stayed with it and are great examples of what I was taught a good christian is supposed to be.
I have nothing but respect and admiration for those who decided to stay on the right path from the start.
(I mean how could I not respect and admire someone like that?)