(real)

Today I had a conversation with an addict.

It was one of the most real conversations I have had in a long time.

See, when you reach bottom, the absolute end of yourself, you have to get real. You are stripped of the things that insulate you against the world, the hurt, the labels, the fear, the monotony. There is nothing left to hide behind, no where to run, no one else to be. You have to face your life, your fears, yourself. It is not easy or pretty. It's hard work. It's long work. But it's supposed to work when you work it.

The thing is, I live in a very polite place. We are very nice to everyone. We smile and greet one another. We are careful not to burden anyone with our problems.  So, how do you minister to people who are always "fine"? How do we "carry one another's burdens" when we don't know what the burdens are?

The thing about the gospel that makes people very uncomfortable is the neediness. The truth is, we all need saving. We all need a Savior. We are not fine. As a matter of fact, we are all desperate. We are all addicts. That's real.

We are all sinners. That's real.

We do not have perfect children. That's real.

We all worry and fail and say dumb things. But if we don't reach and risk, we will never know deep love.

There came a time in my life that everything was stripped away. My world came crashing down around me and out from under me. My identity was shaken, my future unclear. All there was left in my life was God.

And I found that He was all I really needed. He was there for me when nobody, and I mean nobody else was. All those platitudes I had learned, all the smugness from growing up in the church, all the knowing what to say and do, none of that mattered, none of that gave me comfort.

I needed saving.

Desperation leads to authenticity. Coming to the end of yourself is not so much a disaster as it is a reality. There is an end, there are limitations, we all fall short.

Thank you, my dear addict friend, for reminding me what is really important. Thank you for being real.