Everywhere I Went ... There I Was

I just love her! She faithfully attends the Wednesday morning Bible study, which I just recently joined but which she has attended for nearly twenty years. If I had to guess, I would say she was in her 70’s or 80’s. Smart braided hair (not sure it is her own) and dentures that slip as she shares her stories. And she always has stories to share. I admire her vulnerability and am so grateful that she is willing to share so openly, because in those stories . . . the rest of us get to see God.

From the streets of Harlem in New York City where she tried every drug and every religion, she somehow made her way to the prairies of South Dakota. It was there where she finally found the real answer. Jesus. From passing drugs to passing pamphlets, sharing needles to sharing Jesus . . . she has truly been transformed! The power of God to make us into new creations was on display in our midst. Her hope and her joy were simply contagious.

One day, our Bible study on Ephesians posed the question, “When have you felt that you were lost in darkness? What brought you into the light?” It was then that she shared the story of how, as she had struggled with her addiction, she had tried “geographical detoxification.” Her futile attempt to run from her haunts and her habits had led her all around the country, settling in five different states, hoping that, surely, in this new place she could make a new start. And then, dentures slipping, she made one of the most honest statements: “But everywhere I went . . . there I was!”

How true it is! So often we seek to make change by changing our surroundings, our friends, our appearance—and maybe it can help . . . but true change comes from within. The hurt at the heart of our struggles isn’t left behind with a relocation, it comes right along with us. God wants to help us get to the root of those struggles. It doesn’t take a change of address . . . it takes a change of heart.

“As Jesus was getting into the boat,

the man who had been demon-

possessed begged to go with him.

Jesus did not let him, but said,

"Go home to your own people

and tell them how much the Lord

has done for you, and how he has had

mercy on you.” So the man went away

and began to tell in the Decapolis

how much Jesus had done for him.

And all the people were amazed.”

Mark 5:18-20 NIV

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the

new creation has come: The old has

gone, the new is here!”

2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV

“I will give you a new heart

and put a new spirit in you;

I will remove from you your heart of

stone and give you a heart of flesh.”

Ezekiel 36:26 NIV