New Branches

Author:
January 09, 2019

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” – John 10:10, NIV

Nancy came from an alcoholic home. She described her parents as “good people…when they weren’t drinking”.  So when Nancy was older, she left her home and she thought she’d left the chaos behind.

She had two little girls of her own then she miscarried. She worried God was punishing her and she felt guilty. She started drinking. She rationalized it as one beer before bed to help her sleep. But pretty soon, Nancy was getting drunk regularly.

She didn’t realize she had a problem until one of her daughters developed a fever in the middle of the night. Nancy knew she was too impaired to drive so she called her husband who was away on a men’s retreat.

He came home immediately and together, they took their daughter to the local hospital. While they were there, an older nurse reached out to Nancy. She recognized that she needed help and shared her own story of living in an alcoholic home.

Nancy sobbed through the story. “I think this is my legacy. It’s the one my parents gave me and it’s the one I’ll give to my girls. A twisted, ugly family tree.”

The nurse rubbed Nancy’s back and said, “Jesus is in the business of grafting new branches into twisted trees. You don’t have to carry this on your own anymore.”

Whatever darkness plagues your family, you’re not destined to repeat it. You don’t have to live the same life your mother, father, sister, brother, grandmother, or grandfather lived. You can be set free and your family tree can be transformed.

God, there’s been so much darkness and sin in my family. I don’t want my family tree to continue this way. Set us free. Make us righteous. Start a new branch right in this very moment. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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