Christaholics Anonymous

So tonight I've just got a short post, but I had this thought and just couldn't NOT share it with you! Tonight at my weekly freshman girls small group, we started sharing our testimonies with the group, and so I found myself in the bathroom afterwards washing my face and brushing my teeth, thinking about my own testimony. I thought about how we shared intimate details with each other, immediately trusting one another to take it seriously and without judgment, also not repeating any unnecessary details with anyone outside of the group. Thinking about it this way, it reminded me of the structure of addiction support group meetings, and what addiction means. The merriam-webster.com definition of "addict" is this: "to devote or surrender (oneself) to something habitually or obsessively." The majority of addictions mentioned nowadays are harmful to the well being of the addict, but I think that theoretically, it is possible to have a healthy addiction. Realistically, the only healthy addiction I can think of is an addiction to Christ. An addiction becomes something that you can't control, a passion that directs your life, and my passion for Christ has become uncontrollable since this past weekend. I am on a high right now, a "God high" of sorts. Going on a retreat with a group of devoted Christians does that to you. It changes you completely, and shapes you for the better. As long as your heart is in it and you are ready to accept God's direction, you will leave with a renewed passion for seeking Christ. An addiction to Christ is the only addiction that provides healing instead of causing pain. While away on the retreat, I also reconsidered the meaning of healing, and came up with my own way of defining it. Healing doesn't mean you return to the exact shape you were before, but instead you adapt and learn to live with the scars and recognize that they are closed wounds. Scars don't continue causing you pain, they are just a visual, physical reminder of that pain and how you have overcome it. With an addiction to Christ, a support group is just as necessary as any other addiction, but the parameters of the group will be a little different. A Christ support group encourages you in your addiction and walks with you as it grows stronger and starts to control your life. The healthiest relationship with God is one that is all-encompassing and resilient. That is the type of relationship we should be striving for. I highly encourage you to take every opportunity you have to go on a retreat of any sort with your support group, whether it's going out to ice cream or spending the weekend in the mountains. 
"In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith-of greater worth than gold-may result in praise,, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy."
1 Peter 1:6-9
Love always,
Sierra