Addendum

In my post this morning, I mentioned about not getting help. This has been the case in the past, at school and at work. I want to revise this. Recently, God has placed some amazing people in my life, that do whatever they can to help. I do not want to disregard them, or deny God's great provision. I have some terrific friends, a lovely church family, and my own family that do as much as they can to help whenever it is needed .

I have been deeply blessed with a tremendous church family, who truly demonstrate God's love and act as His hands and feet. We are a mismatched, rag-tag lot held together by a common love of Jesus. We are far from perfect - we all have vices, flaws, sins, and hang-ups. We are traveling together down this road of life, helping each other where we can, sharpening each other in the love of Christ. We make many mistakes, both on our own and to each other. We ask forgiveness, give it, and move on. 

If you have never experienced this, I am sorry. It is a shame that not every church is like this. I have been in those as well. Unfortunately, not all church members are really followers of Christ. This makes a huge difference. When you are surrounded by true authentic followers of Christ, it is an amazing, unbelievable group of people. 

If you have ever read Pilgrim's Progress, you know that Christian travels from the City of Destruction to the Heavenly City. Along the way, he meets several people, many who become friends. They don't all travel the entire distance with him, and many are fake. This is the truth of the Christian walk. There are many times I have seen those who are not truly authentic followers, and they cause others to stumble. At times, I have been one of those as well. In all honesty, most Christians have. It's a sad truth, but we are all human and make mistakes (mistakes = sin, in case there was any doubt. In an effort to be real, I want to be clear about that. I sinned. There - I said it). 

If I have offended you, that was not my intention. If you feel called out, that was also not my intention. If you don't have this kind of community, but want one, let me help. If you are local to me, please message me and we'll meet up. If not, we can still connect and I would be glad to help find this type of family near you.