From Nothing to Something

I just finished one of the most depressing/optimistic testimonies out there these days. Eric Clapton was a man who was full of addictions of all sorts: music, sex, fishing, collectables, and the most deadly of all, hard drugs. Even though this would seem to lead to his downfall, it's what made him one of the greatest guitarists to ever strap in to play. He never did anything half-assed and I can respect that.

He describes his addictions and explains how devastating it was for his friends and family to witness. The first forty years of this man's life were filled with disappointment, death, abandonment, confusion, insecurity, and lonliness - and that's not an exageration by any means. He got to the point where he couldn't go a few hours without some sort of drug to get him through. He was drinking 2 bottles of vodka a day. It got extremely ugly.

And then the straw that broke the camels back slapped him in the face. Conor, his 4 year old son, fell 53 floors out of a high-rise apartment to his tragic death.

And it's in these moments where you see the character of an individual.

It's in these moments where God does His most magnificient work...

"At that moment, almost of their own accord, my legs gave way and I fell to my knees. In the privacy of my room I begged for help. I had no notion who I was talking to, I just knew I had come to the end of my tether, I had nothing left to fight with. Then I remembered what I had heard about surrender, something I thought I could never do, my pride just wouldn't allow it, but I knew that on my own, I wasn't going to make it, so I asked for help, and getting down on my knees, I surrendered.

From that day until this I have never failed to pray in the morning, on my knees, asking for help, and at night, to express gratitude for my life, and most of all, for my sobriety.

I choose to kneel because I need to humble myself when I pray, and with my ego, this is the most I can do.

If you are asking why I do this, I will tell you...because it works. It's as simple as that. In all this time I've
been sober, I have never once seriously thought of taking a drink or a drug."

And that's straight from a man who spent forty years disregarding the presence of God. That's straight from a
man who has been to hell and back. That's from a man who has been completely humbled by the grace of God.

It's such a beautiful story because something so self-defeating became something that has changed thousands of lives. Eric Clapton started the "Crossroads Centre" in Antigua which is a rehab treatment center for all kinds of addictions. It exists to help individuals and their families whose lives are controlled by alcohol, drugs or other compulsive behaviors – helping them to make the changes necessary to find new health, a new sense of well-being and a new life of recovery.

It's a beautiful thing when God takes something ugly and makes it wonderful again. Check out Eric Clapton's Autobiography and you'll see what I mean.

KL.