My Journey and Redemption

This is my condensed story from childhood to now.

[@Justin7Wooden]

Thank you for this. The way God was taught to us as children have a long lasting effect on us through our lives. I’m about to be 35 this year and I’m still unlearning the misconceptions about God that I was taught and relearning who He is. God Bless you and your family!

[@MATTMASONMUSIC]

It takes time, but it's definitely a journey that'll bring you closer to truth.

[@1980JPA]

Thanks for sharing this. i had a very similar story. Brought up in a church that was very specific and strict in it's teaching. I was taught a God of retribution and punishment. My parents didn't exactly demonstrate this themselves, and really they had a loving and caring God, but as you mentioned, the community affects one just as much as parents. i figured it was an impossible standard to live up to and i ran also. I avoided even the idea of God for a couple decades. I kept what i thought was a generally good code of morals and ethics but went through life hurting most people i touched through my focus of feeding my addictions. It took me ending up in absolute destitution and being the exact definition that comes to mind when the word junkie is mentioned. I attempted addiction recovery time and time again while avoiding the whole idea of God. It finally "took" when i was at least willing to even attempt to admit that some higher power could help me in ways i couldn't help myself. I had many of the same realizations about the Bible that you had concerning the actual words of Jesus compared to what i'd been taught growing up. Your admissions to your wife is very similar to some of the steps in AA (8th) except we stop at the point of causing more hurt to the person receiving the information. If they ask for specifics then we provide them, but we consider the amount of hurt we've already caused and allow them to choose how many specifics they want to know. And we do this with every person we have harmed that will allow us to do so. I don't happen to be a Christian because of certain specifics i won't go into, even after completely studying the bible again with a fresh and open mind, rejecting any information i was taught growing up that i didn't see in black and white within it's pages, but I've absolutely regained a relationship with (what i believe to be) the same God that I've been so mistaken about my whole life. I've had situations happen since like the "baby shoe" incident that seem too on the nose to be true, but yet in still happen time after time. The freedom is absolutely amazing. My experience with this, your experience with this, the experience of many people that i work with on a regular basis within recovery proves for me that existence is not just us wobbling around on this earth randomly. The basic tenet of continually trying to improve upon oneself and admitting wrong and amending those wrongs are 2 core values i see lacking amongst many around me day to day especially including our leadership in most areas of life. Whether Christian or not, life would be better if more people read the actual words of Jesus for themselves and then actually tried to live within his example. Unfortunately i find these people to be in the minority (including inside the walls of the church). Generally meaning well, as I've found most do, is different than consistently displaying the actions of gratitude and love while in the midst of hard times or amongst those with which you're in disagreement. Thanks so much for sharing your story. It's absolutely encouraging. And congrats on the freedom that you've found. The freedom found after surrender is like no other.

[@MATTMASONMUSIC]

Thanks for sharing your story. If we all use a little more common sense and a little more understanding that we don't live in the world alone, we'd be a lot better off.

[@1980JPA]

@@MATTMASONMUSIC Absolutely, well said. Thank you.

[@scody123]

You said it best, it doesn't take much to be a godly man. The hardest part is to quit being selfish and living "your" life. Your music is a blessing. Thanks for sharing your story, i feel like a lot of men have similar life stories.

[@MATTMASONMUSIC]

Follow Christ is the easiest, and rhe hardest thing we will ever do, and sometimes at the same time.

[@adamhester372]

Wise words, thank you for sharing

[@MATTMASONMUSIC]

Thanks for watching.