Mike Yaconneli Talks About Eric. "I'll Never ...

Mike Yaconneli talks about Eric. “I’ll never forget the day Eric, a recovering alcoholic, stood up in our church during announcements. Eric’s lifelong battle with alcohol had been mostly unsuccessful. He had been in and our of jail, and his drinking was taking its toll on his marriage. ‘I need prayer’, he said

‘my wife has given me an ultimatum- drinking or her. She’s asked me to decide today, and I just wanted to tell you all that I have decided......’

A long awkward pause ensued and every person in the church was on the edge of their seat with their face turned toward him, encouraging him, pleading with him to make the right decision. You could have heard a pin drop. Finally, he stumbled on, tears in his eyes. ‘I’ve decided to choose my wife!.’

Applause and cheering broke out. No one said it, but you could hear it, Good answer, good answer. Eric was not afraid to tell the truth; he was not afraid to reveal to all of us how difficult it was to give up alcohol, even for his wife.

Eric is a spiritual man. Troubled? Yes. Weak? Yes. Unfinished? Absolutely.

Eric refused to pretend life is clean and neat, and he knew he had to tell us the way things were, not the way we wished they were.

Messy Spirituality, Mike Yaconelli

We often learn about following Jesus in the desperation of life. It is a myth, or if you choose an out right lie that we have to fix ourselves in order to meet God. God meets us right where we are.