Praising Him on Credit

This past Monday was very uneventful day in the lives of the Pedens. It was just the typical, run-of-the-mill, chaotic day. We "did the do". It came and went. It's over. Tuesday came with its normal crazy schedule plus a little extra of delivering Krispy Kreme donuts, getting stuck in the mud, Keith having a seizure at work, and a long evening in the emergency room.

 

This morning we were waiting for my optometrist (who is fabulous by the way) to come in for my examination and Keith looked to be in LaLa Land. "What's wrong?" I asked. He said, "I was just sitting here thinking that Monday made seven years." BOOM! My heart crumbled into a million tiny little pieces onto the floor. How could I (we) forget such an important milestone in his life? Our life? You see, Monday, July 7, 2014, marked seven years that Keith has been sober from alcohol.

"Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep." Romans 12:15

It's not that we would have thrown a party or something, well, we may have gone out to eat somewhere nice if we had a little extra, but it's just that we overlooked an important turning point in our lives. That date, July 7, is a date to be celebrated and testified about in order that God gets the glory for doing what ONLY He can do. We don't ever want to take for granted Keith's sobriety and the freedom he has from the bond of Satan and alcohol.

 

God was merciful and took that bondage away from Keith and from our family. The power Satan had over Keith was incredible. It destroyed our lives. Keith lost jobs. We lost a beautiful house, not a home, because "home" was hell. Our two oldest girls' lives were cut into bits and pieces and shattered and left to be picked up by whoever was willing. But there was a Savior who wanted our family together and did not let Satan win. It was all God. And it was all God's timing.

"The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger, and great in mercy. The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works. All Your works shall praise You, O Lord, and your saints shall bless You." Psalm 145:8-10

To borrow from my classmate and longtime friend, Kedria, we are "praising Him on credit." We will never be able to praise God enough for what He did in Keith's life.  To know him then and to know him now is to know two different people, almost. (Addicts are basically the same when the addiction is taken away, just minus the addiction plus some new life techniques and hopefully Jesus.) To know our family then and to know us now, well, is certainly two different families. There has been much healing with much healing to do. There has been two precious additions from above, and yes, there has been more trials (with triumphs) for which He gets all the glory. We praise Him for so much that He has done and that is continuing to do.  We owe everything to God and His perfect plan.