I have felt a deep impression to share my story. I’m not sure why really. It is one of the hardest things I have ever attempted, and, because of that, have continually put it off. I don’t want to do anything that would appear I was elevating myself or my experiences. All of us who recognize the authority of God upon our lives, and choose to live under it, have experiences worth sharing. They are like pathways that help to lead others safely across the pitfalls of life. In this way, our lives are like bridges, and, when we share them and the things that God has taught us through them, we are like bridge builders. I don’t think for one minute that my life’s story is more important than anyone else’s, for I know I am no one. Yet, in some ways, I am everyone, and so are you.

Our mere existence as humans unites us and beckons not only a call to freedom but also a call to slavery in some form. We are bound by our needs, our ideas, our culture, comforts, and expectations — those we have for others and those we have for ourselves based on our ambitions, our abilities, our opportunities, our biases, and much more. All of these things, if given more leverage than they should have, will skew our perception of what really matters and result in a silent bondage that takes place almost with- out our knowledge. It seems that truth becomes so buried in the lies we are living that when we are actually faced with it from time to time, we either react in defense or respond by laughing at its simplistic short comings in answer to our complicated problems. However, our perceptions, regardless of what they are or how they came to be, don’t change reality. Truth is truth. Discovering it, and our need for it, is life’s greatest treasure and greater than any gift I could ever receive or give.