WHERE DO I BEGIN?

Where do I begin?  I really don't know where to begin or if you'll even begin to understand what I'm trying to say, but here goes nothing....  

I feel like I have lost sight of myself and who God created me to be.  I have a very hard time explaining this but ever since we bought our lake house 3 years ago I have felt like I have been in a spiritual battle that I was losing. The truth is that God took me through a time I really didn't expect.  For so very many years my TV viewing was wholesome shows with happy endings.  No crime shows for me for probably about 7 years.  Then I got hooked again.  NCIS, Criminal Minds, Blacklist and a few others got me back into the crime shows.  This time it was different though, the thing I love about crime shows and mysteries is solving the crime, solving the mystery.  Figuring out what triggered someone to commit a crime, what happened in the past that caused that person to commit a crime.

I love to try to figure out what's going on in a persons mind, what makes people tick. For a very long time I felt guilty for watching these shows.  What would God think of me watching these shows?  The thing is these shows taught me some very valuable lessons that God has used to help me.  One of the main things I have learned is that there is always a reason, whether real or imaginary, as to why a person does what they do.  Now I'm not just talking about TV shows and criminals, I'm talking about real life.  

Hurting people hurt people.   Now this is not an excuse but it does explain a lot. There are a lot of people out in the world who are in a lot of emotional and physical pain.   Through these shows I've been watching, God has taught me about the human heart and how it can affect our minds, our moods, our attitudes and our actions.   He has reinforced a truth I have known for a long time...out of the heart, a mouth speaks.  

Our mouths, our tongues, are weapons that can be used to destroy others.  Our mouths lead us to act out in ways we normally wouldn't even dream of.  Our mouth can build up a rage so deep inside us that it can lead to unspeakable acts...just watch the news or listen to a police scanner.  Hurting people are hurting people.  It's real.  TV may dramatize it, but the reality of it is true.  Our hearts are wounded, bruised and have become hardened.  Because of that we act out in ways we shouldn't.  We say things we never imagined would come out of our mouth.  But don't give up.  There is hope.

Jesus Christ can heal and soften and restore even the hardest of hearts.  He can forgive even the harshest criminal. He can change not only our hearts, but our words and our actions.  He is the one who died to free us from the chains of our past.  Let Him heal your heart today.