We have all found ourselves there. It doesn't matter what walk of life we've come from. The crossroads. It's a dangerous place to be because you begin to question every aspect of your life. But all you need when you find yourself here is someone to push you towards the right direction. A very good friend of mine found himself here, pretty fast. So I tried to be the one to help him. I'm not going to go into detail about his situation, but he was simply about to make the biggest mistake of his life. I didn't know where to begin, so I just sat there and listened. I asked questions and tried to put myself in his shoes, and then I began to understand where he was coming from. He was so afraid, and if you've ever felt fear; you know its a very powerful emotion. It can cause us to do things we never imagined ourselves doing. It blinds us and if you let it, it can take control of your life.
At this point I knew there was only one way to help him, and that was sharing what saved me. I asked if he believed in God, and his facial expression was loud enough to where he didn't need a voice. He cringed as if I mentioned the name of someone who ruined his life. Which is what he felt had happened. He didn't know what he believed in, all he knew was he felt so alone and no one was helping him. He was lost. I asked him what his honest opinion was on Christianity, and his answer will always be pinned in the back of my head as something that opened my eyes to understand others.
He said that religion is like waking up in a library with millions of other people. And with no leader or sense of direction, we are all to pick a book off one of the many shelves. There is no librarian to point you in the right direction, it's all a game of chance. And we hope with all our heart that we picked the right one. He described the books as all the different types of religion. His voice was full of pain when he said that "we only get one shot at choosing, because if we picked the wrong one; we will pay for it for the rest of our lives and maybe even far after."
He then became silent. He was waiting on my response. I was too lost in my own head thinking about how terrifying that must be. To have no comfort or contentment in any aspect of your life. He was miserable, and needed to hear something right then that could help him. I closed my eyes and quickly prayed that the next words that came from my mouth would be God's and not my own. I then looked at him and began to answer. I explained that the book that he once "checked out" from that library had a return date. And it was coming very soon. I told him he was wrong. That there was a librarian, and he still had a chance to talk to Him. I told him the librarian was God, and that he would keep him far from the fiction aisles and take him straight to where he needed to be. He never leaves, and is always there to lend a hand when it's needed. He listened to me, and I knew that planting the seed was all I could do and that's what I did. I shared pieces of my own testimony and this was the last conversation we ever had.
He ended up making the wrong decision, and he moved away running from his mistake. He is still on my mind constantly. I pray for him all the time, but I know I did all that I could. But this is for the one's who have found themselves stuck between isles searching for the perfect book. You're not alone.
Ask for help, talk to the librarian.
That library is too big to walk through alone.
I promise you'll get lost.
