Complicated

When Jack and I started this blog I hoped it would be a light-hearted way to share our lives with people we know and occasionally people we don't know. I often find myself laughing out loud when I read blogs from Mandy or smiling when my friends share stories about their children. Unfortunately, our life has not been as light-hearted as I would like it to be recently and that is why I have really avoided posting anything.

I have had a personal experience recently where one of my family members has found himself trapped deep in complicated, messy, addicting, and stigmatized sin. It's the kind of thing you would never expect to happen in a "good Christian family." Many people, myself included, are still reeling from the news and while I am mostly able to move through my days as if everything is well and normal I do have emotional break-downs from time to time. The whole situation has had me thinking quite a bit about God and Satan, the world and eternity. To God, we are all broken, fallen creatures. Suffering through our weaknesses whether they be private or public. No sin, whether it be jealousy or murder, is worse than any other in the eyes of God. And ending your life in that sin will cause you to face eternal punishment regardless of what it is. In this world, our sins have consequences. And those consequences create levels for us that make us feel as though one sin is worse than another. What's worse, at times the consequences we face for our own sins have drastic effects on those we love even though they had absolutely no control over our actions. Sin and Satan are two powerful forces.

I'm not writing this to draw attention to myself. Although what has happened is in my family, it is not an immediate family member and the effects on me personally are really going to be relatively minor. My concern is more for those who are going to be deeply affected for the rest of their lives. Romans 8:26 says, "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." That verse holds a great deal of meaning for me right now on multiple levels. Please pray for this situation and take time to consider your own weaknesses. If you are struggling in an addictive sin and need help to get out of it, please get the help you need before it is too late. Let us allow our Christian brothers and sisters to help us through our weaknesses and follow the words of Galatians 6:2, "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."