On September 14th, 2015 it will be my two-year spiritual birthday! This used to be my sobriety celebration, but I have experienced great freedom! Therefore, I felt a need to give this day a new name.
Two years ago, I woke up after the night I fell off the wagon and went out drinking, and realized I cannot live like this anymore. I was filled with shame, disappointment, and nausea. I had done and said many things I wasn’t proud of. I didn’t feel like myself, but instead some empty shell of who I was meant to be. I was surrounded by darkness; but that morning I saw the light.
That day began my journey of giving my life fully over to the Lord. It was by no means a quick fix, but instead a process of surrendering one area of my life at a time. It began slowly by me choosing to stop drinking and using drugs, which led to seeing my life differently, which led to me thinking differently, which led to me applying for The Race. It was about every day me choosing Him over my flesh (though I didn’t know that was what I was doing at the time lol). I applied for an 11-month mission trip around the world only four months after giving my life over to the Lord!! That is so crazy, and so God! He doesn’t need us to be the “best” or “perfect” person for Him to be able to use us and work in our lives; we just need to be willing to listen and follow. And through that, with Him by our side, we change; we begin to look more like Him.
He has walked me through so much freedom (especially in the 9 months on The Race)! Freedom from addiction, lust, selfishness, materialism, self-dependency, and many other breakthroughs! I received a prophetic word before leaving on The Race and it was about the freedom I was going to experience this year (2 Corinthians 3:17). And let me tell you, The Spirit was giving me a heads up about what this year was going to be!
So, because of all the freedom me getting sober began, I have decided that would no longer be my sobriety date, but instead my spiritual birthday! It will no longer be a day reminding me of the foothold the enemy had in my life, but instead a day celebrating all the things the Lord has done through grace!
I just want to say THANK YOU to everyone who has stuck by my side and supported me in the good and bad times of this journey. Your encouragement and support is so amazing! Yay to the second of many birthdays to come!! God is good, all the time. And all the time, God is good.
If you would like to read my “1-year sobriety blog” here it is… Check it out!
http://andreachvatal.theworldrace.org/?filename=a-year-of-change-behind-a-year-of-growth-ahead
