Discipleship Devotional
EVERYONE HAS A STORY
If you asked me to share with you one of my favorite prayers, I would quickly say, The Serenity Prayer. The content, combined with the experience, definitely places this prayer in my top five (5). I will never forget a client with whom I conducted Relapse Prevention Therapy. By the time she entered my office, she had been addicted to alcohol for about three (3) years. The core motivating factors behind her addiction remained a secret that she just wasn't ready to tell. The Serenity Prayer was her favorite prayer. She would close out each session with these words:
About 3:00 AM one morning, my phone rang. When a pastor's and/or counselor's phone rings at that time of morning, all you can do is think the worst. It was my Serinity Prayer client. She had a 5th of Jack Daniel's on her kitchen table. The only reason she hadn't opened it was because of a promise she made me. She promised me that the next time she had an urge to drink, she would call me first. She kept her promise. The keeping of that promise led her, for the first time, to share the core motivating factor behind her drinking, which was the death of her mother. My client and her mother shared the exact birthdate. My client had been up all night, fearing what the day would bring, as it was her and her mother's birthday. For three (3) years, she would celebrate their birthday by drinking alcohol until she was so drunk she couldn't feel anything emotionally. That day, we talked about the beautiful parent-child relationship she had with her mother until the sun came up. We also developed a plan for celebrating her birthday sober by visiting a local homeless shelter, where she could help cook and serve meals to the homeless. She was able to replace the birthday dinner her mother and she cooked together every year with cooking and helping feed the less fortunate. This story has a happy ending because she got sober and stayed sober.
Why would I share this story with you for today's Discipleship Devotional? I share this story because the next time you see a homeless person. The next time you drive by an area filled with tents, please remember that every single person has a story. People don't become homeless or live in poverty because that's what they've always wanted. Everybody has a story.
As you set aside time to prepare for what life has in store for you today, please carry this Discipleship Devotional in your spirit, heart, and mind. Remember, your phone may ring in the wee hours of the morning. When/if it does, God may use you to help someone find healing.
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