From the East to the west

You may have noticed recently I added a playlist of songs. It has always amazed me how a song can fill a void, or can completely describe how you are feeling at that moment. It can take you back to good memories, some sad, and even some that were bad. When I was younger I had an accident where about 5 sheets of plate glass fell on me, it was said that it was probably over 500 pounds of glass. But I remember before this crazy accident Creedence ClearWater Revival was playing, Looking out my back door. Needless to say when I hear this song I always change the channel.

The day of my grandfathers funeral we were on our way to the funeral we heard the song wish I coulda been there by John Anderson and on the way back to my grandparents house, I heard the Eagles song, Love will keep us alive. It seems so crazy that there are days you can't remember what happened yesterday, but hearing a certain song can take you back several years.

My heart has ached lately for the loss of my uncle, even though it has been some years since he passed. I guess seeing pictures of his granddaughter who looks just like him when he was a baby makes me wish he was here to see her and love her. My uncle was not always the greatest man. He struggled most of his life with drugs, stealing from family and friends to get his next fix. He hurt so many people in the 40 some years he was alive, but despite all the sadness he caused, in my heart I still miss him. I miss his Homer Simpson imitation, I miss watching him play football with the kids. He could always make you laugh, which is so sad because the demons he fought within himself took his happiness and would eventually end him.

I remember him telling me about going to see Billy Graham at the Alltell stadium. He said he cried like a baby and had accepted God into his life. Though it never seemed like he lived for the lord, I truly believe he talked to God.

The Casting Crowns song East to the West has always reminded me of him. For some of us the struggles of living on this earth are simple. Our daily struggles can not compare to those who struggle daily with alcoholism, drug addiction, not to mention the depression that comes with each of these. This is why when I here this song it speaks volumes to me and the life he lived. Please read the lyrics or just skip down if you know them.


Here I am Lord and I'm drowning
In your sea of forgetfulness
The chains of yesterday surround me
I yearn for peace and rest
I don't want to end up where you found me
And it echoes in my mind
Keeps me awake tonight

I know you've cast my sins as far
As the East is from the West
And I stand before you now
As though I've never sinned but today
I feel like I'm just one mistake away
From you leaving me this way

Jesus can you show me
Just how far the East is from the West
Cause I can't bear to see the man I've been
Come rising up in me again
In the arms of your mercy I find rest
Cause you know just how far the East is from the West
From one scar[r]ed hand to the other

I start the day the war begins
Endless reminding of my sin
Time and time again
Your Truth is drowned out by the storm I'm in
Today I feel like I'm just one mistake away
From you leaving me this way

Jesus can you show me
Just how far the East is from the West
Cause I can't bear to see the man I've been
Come rising up in me again
In the arms of your mercy I find rest
Cause you know just how far the East is from the West
From one scarred hand to the other

I know you've washed me white
Turned my darkness into light
I need your peace to get me through
To get me through this night
I can't live by what I feel
But by the truth your word reveals
I'm not holding on to you
But your holding on to me
Your holding on to me

Jesus, you know just how far
The East is from the West
I don't have to see the man I've been
Come rising up in me again
In the arms of your mercy I find rest
(The arms of your mercy I find rest)
Cause you know just how far the East is from the West
From one scar[r]ed hand to the other(x2)

(Just how far, the East is from the West) (x3)

From one scarred hand to the other


I can't imagine what it must be like to wake up everyday in the body of a person addicted to drugs or alcohol. Because it must consume you. I would guess its the first thing you think of when you awake. Like "drowning in a sea of forgetfulness." Forgetting that the night before you asked God for forgiveness.

After falling back into these ways and standing before God for the 1,000,000 time asking for forgiveness. I can't imagine what that must feel like, when the demons are stronger than the ones we deal with daily. The demons that make you think it's ok to hurt family, friends, and even people you don't know. The sad thing is no matter what you do, you can't help them. They have to want to help themselves. Sadly I believe that more times than none the demons win. Maybe because we don't pray hard enough, maybe because we don't believe God will actually help the person in need.

I believe this is why God takes some people home, he brings them home to end the pain inside of them and to let their families rest. Please think about what you have read today and if you have someone in a situation like this please pray harder for them and love them to the best of your ability.