It was one year ago today that I came before you asking for prayers for my daughter, Christina, who had been involved in a head-on collision with another car. My daughter was a social worker for hospice for 10 years and was using alcohol to deal with her anxiety and inner struggles and on this day she was drinking coming home from a hospice visit and caused the wreck that injured an elderly couple. You rose to the occasion and today marks her one year "Happy Birthday" anniversary celebration of sobriety.
My family is grateful for all the prayers that have been given up on our behalf. I am grateful for the advice of friends that helped determine the necessary course of action and for those that continually remember our family in prayer as things have evolved over the past year and will shortly come to a final conclusion...from a legal standpoint anyway.
Christina was charged with 4 felony counts (injury/DUI). The couple has recovered and they won a multi-million dollar civil lawsuit against her former employer. They told Christina through their civil lawyer that they forgive Christina and are praying for her, which meant a lot and has helped her to forgive herself for being responsible for their injuries.
Christina has 2 children aged 4 and 7 who she left to do rehab in March of last year for one month. She has faithfully attended Alcoholics Anonymous and is learning how to live life sober. She says the most important thing she has learned is to live in the moment, which opens up a whole new way to live life...much different than how she was living. She is in counseling and after 10 months went to a chiropractor and discovered she had chipped her tailbone in the accident. This has been a very LONG year for my family but God has been faithful and healed so much that was broken.
Her husband has also attended Al-Anon and he is learning valuable insights into how to live with someone that has abused alcohol. He also accepted the Lord as his Savior this year which is such a blessing. There is much healing and growth.
Her case is scheduled to come before a judge in March. We are praying that God will be merciful and that she will not go to prison. There is certainly earthly justice but we are praying for God's heavenly mercy that will allow her to remain with her family. She has beome stronger over the past year and is prepared to accept whatever the future holds but we know our God is able to do exceedingly more than we can ever imagine.
I ask for your continued prayers as March approaches and I thank you all for your prayers and lovingkindness toward me and my family. God never promises a life without struggle...but He assures us that He is carrying us through to the end and He is the healer of broken hearts and dreams. It is so wonderful to bask in the everlasting love of our Abba...His faithfulness cannot be measured. Thank you all for being there...prayers have been answered.
Happy Birthday Christina...one year sober with many more to come!
u/tweety51A you have shared such an important message. After reading your post, I am so grateful that your daughter and the others involved in the accident are alive. While it was a tragedy for sure, God's first blessing was survival.
The other thing that sticks out to me is how life comes at us hard and fast out of nowhere sometimes. The entire covid plandemic, vaxx bioweapon, and social fabric disruption was nothing I ever could have expected. At least, I couldn't expect to know the death and loss of loved ones due to these events, the way I feel them now having personal experiences like so many others.
The most important message you delivered, and reminded me of, is your expression of the most important form of Love.
I thought I knew what love was at a very young age. The first girl that made eyes at me? I loved her for sure. My first girlfriend? Oh, I loved her for sure. I told her all the time. When I found the one? Oh, I definitely knew what love was then. I got down on a knee for her! I even bought her a ring!
Yes, I knew what love was. I had it all figured out.
And then, it happened. We had our first child. We've been blessed with four.
It was at this precise moment that I found a whole new love I never new before.
What love was this?
UNCONDITIONAL Love.
I knew at the moment of my first child's birth that I would do anything and everything the rest of my life to love them no matter what. There would be absolutely NOTHING that could stop my love. My children could fail miserably and I would never stop loving them. They can succeed wildly and that will not make me love them more, I already love them completely, there is no more room for more love, the cup overflows already.
I never knew this love before children. I thought I knew what love was all my life. But when you have children, you gain a full and complete understanding of Unconditional Love.
You know who else has Unconditional Love for us?
The Lord does.
God loves us so much he gave his only son to die for us. Imagine giving up your child? He did this to guarantee eternal life for all of us who believe.
What's better than Uncondtional Love? Nothing, except one thing.
Eternal Unconditional Love.
Eternal Unconditional Love is the most powerful and longest lasting. It is the perfect love of all loves. This love comes naturally as a parent for our children, but we can CHOOSE to have this love with our loved ones as well. There is no other love so powerful.
Whether any of us chooses to share this Unconditional love to others is our choice. You clearly have this Unconditional Love for your daughter. God Bless You for this understanding and generosity.
For those without children, or for those who do not yet know Unconditional Love, please know that if you put your Faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, he will relentlessly hunt you down with his love for you.
No matter what you've done, no matter what you do, there is nothing you can do to run or hide from the Lord's love for you. Whether you are lost or found, whether you have your act together or you are completely broken down, the Lord has you. He wants you. He is pursuing you. He will never give in, He will never give up. There is nothing you can do, good or bad, to stop the Lord from loving you. The Lord Our God holds the ultimate NCSWIC. If you choose to Believe, He is coming after YOU.
Luke 15: 4-7
And Jesus said...
I hope every single person reading this comment pauses life to listen to this song. For those of faith, I hope it strengthens you. For those who are lost, I hope this message finds you. For those filled with hate, sadness, or anger, I hope it extinguishes your pain.
At some point in life, every one of us is the lost sheep.
I want to remind you, HE IS COMING AFTER YOU!
Relentless Love
I thank you so much for your answer...such an encouragement and such insight into love...especially God's everlasting love. I am going to show these posts to Christina to encourage her and I know how much she will be touched by your precious, Godly thoughts.
I have 5 children...Christina is middle girl and middle child born on Friday, July 13th. I distinctly remember being pregnant with my 2nd child and holding my first...wondering how I could ever love the new baby as much as I loved the first...BUT...then I discovered the miracle of love...it is the only thing in this world that you can give away and still keep...it multiplies on its' own...
"Love wasn't put in your heart to stay...
Love isn't love 'til you give it away."
Your observations about Love are so spot on...God's eternal, unconditional love is unique to God and can never be found except by knowing God who is love...who created love and who demonstrated love in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us...
Thank you for the song...music is my thing...God bless you and your family richy...thank you so much for your wise words...
You are most welcome u/tweety51A!
I will continue to hold you, Christina, your family, and everyone else involved in my prayers. 🙏🏻
No matter what happens, God Unconditionally and Relentlessly Loves You, Christina, and your entire family! He will never stop fighting for you!
❤️🙏🏻❤️
A robust Amen from the peanut gallery!!!!!
Warms my heart! Thank you tweety51A!!! ❤️🙏🏻❤️