Corking the Bottle

Coronavirus doesn't exist. Think positively. If there is a coronavirus, it will go away without affecting me, my family, or my friends. That's what I call "positive thinking." In reality, that's what I call hogwash. Wait. I do believe in positive thinking. But what exists in my "Pleasantville" doesn't exist in Louisville.  People get sick. Divorce happens. Domestic violence exists. The police shot and killed someone's brother, son, and maybe father downtown yesterday because he pulled a weapon on police. Bad stuff like covid-19 exists. So do rainbows and butterflies. God gets us through the bad stuff and enables us to enjoy the good stuff. He tests us in many ways. My alcoholism was a test. It wasn't God's will, but He used my addiction to make me a better person once I emerged from the darkness of the disease. Have faith in a Higher Power, and this too will pass. I opened up a book I read sometime back and came across a passage ...

This past week has been a real beaute for me. My father-in-law died. I got a flat tire and needed my car towed to get it replaced. My cell phone died, and not all my settings, data, and contacts transferred to my new phone. Today is day 10 without a furnace with nighttime temperatures in the 30s and 40s. When I get the furnace fixed, the cost is estimated at $1,400. I  could use a stiff drink, followed by a loss of control, a blackout, a wife explosion, and a hangover that leaves me with the same original problems. Instead, I choose faith in God. "When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life. Even the smallest incident has significance for your character development. Every day is an important day, and every second is a growth opportunity to deepen your character, to demonstrate love, or to depend on God. Some tests seem overwhelming, while others you don't even notice. But all of them have eternal implications. "The...

"When God seem distant, you may feel he is angry with you.... It is a test of faith -- one we all must face: Will you continue to love, trust, obey, and worship God, even when you have no sense of his presence or visible evidence of his work in your life?" -- The Purpose-Driven Life   ( http://purposedriven.com/books/pdlbook/ ) God at this moment is testing someone very close to me. Such tests are part of life, I'm sorry to say. Certainly, God was testing me when I was drinking and wouldn't stop -- over and over and over. I flunked. Again and again and.... I had to keep repeating the same class, like an unrepentant school boy. It's my life, I thought, and no one will stop me if I want to drink. Not even God. If there is a God. I had my doubts. At last, I passed His test, and I pass it every day, one day at a time. My aforementioned friend faces a different kind of test of faith. Alcohol isn't involved, but similar life-changing decisions are. I pray...