Another Day

Another Day

Issue 14 [May 2, 2010]

     As I was listening to a song (consequently) titled “Another Day,” the literary side of my brain started to kick in, and I felt that I’d better do some cooking while the grease was still hot! At the end you will find the words to this song sung by a group from Defuniak Springs, Florida called “Robert And James.” That is about all I know concerning the song.

     I want to take you back to 2005, when I moved to Florida. I was a back-slider, and I was just attempting to get out of a bad situation in my life. I was in the middle of a mental tornado and it felt like an F-5. I was in the process of (what I felt) was a mental or nervous breakdown (I was never diagnosed or anything like that). My parents were moving to central Florida to chase after the little white ball. They wanted me to come and take care of the property in Baker, Fl while they moved to Inverness and buy a home there.

     I agreed and in March 2005 I took up residence and called it home. I had many, many things wrong with me, as I’m sure you’ll note that ALL back-sliders do. A friend moved down with me and we tried to keep one another out of trouble. I was at my lowest I felt I had EVER been. It took me a long time to recuperate and just to where I even wanted to be around anyone.

     Time will heal all scars. It may have been a year before I could honestly say, I was thankful for waking up. It actually crept up on me unaware. I found myself driving to work and enjoying the sunrise. I could sit out on the front porch listening to the birds singing, the crickets chirping, and truly appreciate the opportunity of waking up and having one more day.

     I was still a back-slider and I was still living in sin. I sank farther and farther into drinking and the drugs became more frequently used. I found Cocaine to be readily available and an acquaintance taught me how to “purify” it into a solid form, which was great for smoking.

     There are 3 ways that our body learns things, Audio (which is to hear it), Visual (which is to see it), and kinesthetic (movement and touch). I had always known that spirits took on many forms. Be it drugs, drinking, tobacco, music, and so on. I had felt them all thru my life but when I began to smoke cocaine I started to have a very personal one on one relationship with some real heavy hitters. I saw them in their rare form and how that they worked on us. I found myself thinking things I never would imagine. I thought of my friends conspiring against me and the paranoia was like I never before conceived. It was a short-lived episode in my life but to this day I am still scared to death to ever have to face those again.
I was held prisoner by alcoholism. I found that a drink (to relax or calm my nerves) was more important than duties around the house. I may only have bologna or cheap sandwiches to eat, but I made sure I had enough alcohol to get me thru the night. As long as I had enough to get me thru till I went to bed I knew that I would deal with everything else the next day.

     I had to have a cigarette. I may get low on money and only be able to drink a six pack that night but I HAD to have a cigarette. I was too prideful to use change if I had a couple of dollars, but when it got real tight I scrapped up pennies and nickels and dimes just so I could get a pack of smokes. If I had a cigarette, I knew I could make it thru these hard times.

     My heart was in shambles. I couldn’t find my way to looking for a filler. I was too broken of a man. It was well over a year before I could even consider anyone. I later began to talk to people and realize that it was going to be ok. I could bring myself to have friends again and maybe even let my guard down (just a little bit, though).

     I began to realize that the running was over. I was eating husks and I didn’t have to. It was time to go home and see if Father would allow me to work as a hired hand. I am not worthy of anything, but father, if you would see fit, I will be thankful for any crumbs you send my way.

     Being from West Tennessee, I had become accustomed to being able to visit a “Good” church every 30-50 miles in any direction. So as I began to investigate the “Pentecostal” churches in the surrounding areas, I could not find one where I had been comfortable with the standards. I may have had a problem with my flesh and back-slid, but my faith in Doctrinal Issues would NEVER be in question. I may have had more problems than Carter had liver pills, but if its not deeply rooted and grounded in strong Apostles Doctrine then I was willing to start preaching to myself (just kidding).

     I got up one Sunday morning and as I was pulling out of my drive, I felt the Lord urge me to travel north. I said Lord; the only thing that way was Andalusia and Brewton. I am 35 miles to Andalusia and 40 plus miles to Brewton, but never-the-less, where you lead I will follow. I got to the intersection to turn left to Brewton and Right to Andalusia, and I pulled over. I asked the Lord, Ok, Now what? Again he urged me and I went to the Right. I went into town, found a phone book and wrote down the address to Andalusia Apostolic. I sat down in the back and listened to the preacher. I came back the next Sunday and listened some more. Being a little gun-shy I wasn’t going to jump in head first till I found out what this preacher stood for. After the service, as we were talking, I simply came out and asked him, “Ok, I gotta know, what do you believe?”
In April it will be 5 years, and I have not regret a mile I ever traveled for the Lord. I started out with a car that the wheels were falling off. I would drive 200 miles a day when we were in Revival to get ones to and from church. Later God saw fit to “Loan” me a beautiful reliable car. He not only changed my life, he brain washed me. No, this is not in the negative since, but he washed my heart, my soul and my mind.

      There are times when I begin to speak that I end up a “ball-bag” because, “If you had known me before I knew him, you’d understand why I love him so!” There are few times I testify of Gods mercy that I don’t thank him for the “opportunity” of another day, the “privilege” of truth, and “allowing” me to live for him.
I have heard many say (and I believe it), that it is harder for a back-slider when coming back to God. They have to work twice as hard as those who never left the House of God. It is a constant battle, but one thing it did for me is give me a true appreciation for what I lost.
I don’t suggest anyone to backslide to get a greater appreciation for God and what they lost, because I am only one of thousands who walked out on God. If we had statistics of how many walk away from the truth, and if we knew of all those who never made it back, the numbers would be staggering. I am simply one that was allowed to come back.

     I realize that I will have to reap what I have sown, but it is a minuscule price to pay for being able to come back to the House of God. Psalms 27:4 is a scripture I quote many times and it says; “One thing have I desired of the Lord and that will I seek after. . . .” I an so thankful that God give me a desire. A desire to live, a desire to die, a desire to pray and fast, a desire to overcome, and a desire to hold on when the going gets tough. As I walk thru the valley, it is nothing compared to the pain of dwelling in the tents of the wicked. I was a prisoner in a very dark dungeon and thought I would never see the light of day again. So for me it means everything, no matter how bad it gets, that I can wake up and choke out the words “Thank you, oh Lord, for giving me . . .Another day.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Song For Your Basket:

Another Day
When I wake up, every morning, at day light
Before I look out, into the world, to meet the day
Its so peaceful, every morning, at daylight
And I thank God for giving me another day
Chorus
When I ride down the road of our great country
And I see, that old flag along the way
I stop, for a moment of silence
And I thank God for giving me another day
If I look, make it up there, to glory
And I look out, on the gold milky way
I’ll sing and I’ll shout, Halleluiah
And I thank God for giving me eternal day
And when I see a mother holding a new-born baby
And I see all the joy on her face
A happy, happy feeling comes all over me
And I thank God for giving her this day
Chorus 1x
… And I thank God for giving me another day~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Editors Comments:

     A couple of things I ask of the Lord a few years ago was a desire for more of Him, a Beautiful God-SENT companion, and I also asked for the wisdom and ability to put pen to paper the words that will grip someone’s heart.

     With words, I want to draw a picture that will make you laugh, and cry. I want the ability to get inside your head and your heart. I want to write about the things that will make people think and use it to better their life, so they might believe in themselves. To know that if they give it all they have, they C - A - N succeed. One desire I have is to reach as many as I can (before) they experience the life I lived. I want to keep them from writing, as I do, “The Memoirs of a Back-slider.”