A New Beginning Away From Addiction
The ending of Shawshank Redemption has an incredible moment.
The film deals with many of the same issues and themes we face here at The Foundry. Redemption, freedom, friendship, time, patience, loyalty, and hope. After living a life of drug abuse, how do I live after addiction?
There is a specific moment in the movie where a character could not cope with being released after 50 years in prison. At the end of the film, Red is released and faces the same question. He decides to track down his missing friend Andy.
Upon finding him on a lonely beach, an incredible smile transforms Red’s haggard face. That smile is a smile of New Beginnings.
What is a New Beginning? Some see it as new opportunities. Moving cities, changing jobs, getting married, having kids. Others see it as a perspective change from learning something new or a profound experience.
A New Beginning is a moment, a point of critical mass when the scale tips. The current state of life is unacceptable, and change is required to move forward. For me, it is a build-up of pressure. I cannot take the current state anymore. An explosion of action is released. A New Beginning is an exact moment where things will change.
When a participant finds a new life at The Foundry, joy permeates everything they do. There is always a moment when they decide to change and seek a better life. You can recognize these participants by the distinct smile on their faces. It is contagious.
When your situation is hopeless, despair affects your relationships, work, hobbies, and everything else that matters to you. Food doesn’t taste as good. The future looks bleak. Everything and everyone seems to pass by around you.
When you find God and the hope that comes from Him, life changes suddenly. There is a moment of New Beginnings. Isaiah has a great verse about this.
8 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18-19
The potential for hope and a New Beginning lives inside us all. God has made a way for us in the wilderness, where we thought there was no way. The time for a new chapter, a fresh start, a new beginning is now.
Many years ago, I decided to modify my approach to change. New Year’s resolutions were ineffective and forced. There were a lot of problem areas in my life, but nothing was inspiring change. My new plan? Force the pendulum to move. Add pressure to the tank.
Every day would be a New Beginning for me. Every morning is a unique opportunity to change. When I saw something that needed change, I would do it today, this morning, now.
“Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?”
Waiting for a New Beginning to come to you is like sitting on a see-saw all by yourself and waiting to rise. It will never happen. You will have to get up and do it yourself or ask for help.
Prayer: God, I know you have provided the way for me to change and grow in you. I want your will to be done. Forgive me for when I failed to live up to your standard. Please help me see what needs to change in my life and overcome the obstacles keeping me from that change.
