Training Camp.
I am going to be honest. I am terrible at writing & I am easily distracted. All of my previous drafts of this post have ended up being random ramblings and such.
The 8 days in hot, humid & rainy Toccoa Falls, Georgia was by far the most intense & best week of my life. Here are some of the words that come to mind as I reflect back on it:
Beautiful
Broken Chains
Honest
Sweaty
Glorified
Exhausting
Healing
Wet
Eye Opening
Incredible
Pure
Hard
Worship
Community
LOVE
I had only met 2 of my 61 fellow squad mates before TC, yet when we all arrived it was like we had known each other our whole lives ( we had no problem talking about pooping by day 2 ). We were already becoming a family. Little did we know that what we would go through in the next week would bring us together like no bond we have ever expierenced.
In 8 days Daddy completely wrecked my life & transformed into a whole new person. I won't get too into the story, but I have had a really hard time dealing with the past decisions i have made. You see, I used to be a really bad person. I have hurt a lot of people, I was a drug addict, an alcoholic, a womanizer, a narcissit & an athiest. Even after my salvation I had a really hard time fully letting go of my past. I always identified myself as the "guy that always has party stories of being wasted & high." I had a hard time completely selling out for God & I had tons and tons of chains attached to me because of it. I often found myself feeling like a prisoner to myself. I spent years at war with myself. I longed to be set free from my sometimes emotionless self.
Well, would you know it, the first 3 days of camp all we dealt with was our own crap. I quickly realized that I was not alone. Over 3 days I cried more than I have my whole life (true story), Daddy broke me down and got me raw about myself. Then, I started to grieve all of the things over 10 years I have pushed farther and farther down ( something that I am a expert at ). Then it happened. I was completly released from everything. I felt like ME.
After that I walked around like a completley different person.
No longer afraid:
to be weird
to dance
to declare Daddys truths
to yell out loud
to CRY
to worship freely
to be bold
to let Jehovah speak through me
Daddy has set me free.
I am a new person after only 8 days. What will the next year hold for me? I do not know but I am so excited to see.
