For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭6

When do we realize we have become set on a death march?

This isn’t what we set out for. It’s not where we ever dreamed to end up. It only took me a few short years to come all the way to a jumping off point of hopelessness.

Many never slow down.

At some point in our addiction lines are crossed. We lose bits of our control. We give away the rest. We relinquish in ourselves the fight we once thought we would always have to live with or at least tolerate.

Setting our minds on this progression becomes less a conscious choice than a digression back into the corner where we can see no freedom.

And it becomes especially difficult when there is company, bad though it may be.

Seeds of the spirit, though, can germinate over longer periods than we guessed. And as they push through the soil of our broken life, we are confronted with a terribly difficult choice.

It’s an easy path to continue onward. But if we spend a little time watering the new sprouted idea of sobriety, God is more than willing to unearth us completely.

Provided we set our minds on him and move toward him one step at a time.

God, thank you for this chance to live.