No Greater High

May 10th is a very special day for me. May 10, 2000, I was delivered from an alcohol addiction in an attention-getting way which I have posted about before.  I have not had another sip of alcohol since that night.  The smell of it nauseates me.  I know that God was preparing me for a blessing I could not receive unless I turned away from my destructive lifestyle.  One year to the day I met/talked to Roger for the first time.  Two months later we were married.  God is so amazing.  The journey I have been on since May 10, 2000, has been thrilling, scary, lonely, and just plain hard sometimes.  When I stopped drinking and partying, I lost all of my friends including my best friend.  I was a new person in Christ and no longer the same old Lynette.  I lost some people who really didn't care about me enough to accept me unconditionally.  I don't know if I made them uncomfortable or what, but God removed a lot of people from my life during this period.  He took me through a valley so deep I never thought there would be another mountain top.  I relate to the Apostle Paul in so many ways: from being struck blind to the thorn in the side.  That is the reason God has filled His Word with sinful, mistake-making people like Paul, Peter and Mary Magdalene.  We can relate to imperfection but not perfection.  Sometimes I wondered why God was allowing the trials in my life.  It was hard to understand at the time why I was suffering so much when I was trying to live for God while other people who were not Christians continued on their merry way doing whatever they wanted.  That was the lonely part of the journey.  I did not feel like I had anyone to talk to who would understand what I was going through.  God used that time to show me that I do have someone I can always turn to who will understand my struggles and that someone is His only Son, Jesus.  I am closer to God due to my trials than I ever would have been without them.  While I don't want to go back and repeat the painful process, I am glad it happened. 

So on this anniversary of 12 years of sobriety and 11 years of being with my soul mate I would like to thank God for the thorns in my life, for the people He removed from my path and the trials I have endured because without them I would not be the person I am today.  There is no greater high than serving the God on High:)