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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: BUG (04/06/17)
When I was a teenage boy I enjoying bugging out; hanging out, chillin, you know... like a villain. At times, very much the villain. It was the golden age when life seemed out there for the taking. Nothing was out of reach for a day-dreamer like me.



Introduced to porn by age nine, and getting drunk on the corner by thirteen, my friends and I thought we were cool, you know... acting the fool. None of us understood that we had been bit by the bug, the sickness of all men. It's not really something young men can comprehend.



And yet, we believed it was normal, and were told that same thing. It's what all teenage boys do. Chasing girls, dreaming about fast cars, never taking time to let wounds heal; instead, developing scars. That's the way we rolled. Silly little children; bit by the bug, imprisoned by sin.



Stuck in bad patterns, unsure if life mattered; an unexpected pregnancy and my paradigm was shattered. Yet it wasn't the child that made things switch from black to white, but the abortion that took an innocent life. The plan was a bachelor party, and then making her my wife; but the woman I thought I loved cut me up with a knife... figuratively of course.



Now I had no foundation upon which to stand; a young man's life slipping away on sinking sand. I started searching for reason, someone to help me understand. Church only helped to rearrange the pain since I wasn't ready to rearrange the man. Or more properly put, to be rearranged by the Man.



Years would pass, still infested with the bug.



When I was a young man I didn't really enjoy bugging out; hanging out, chillin, you know... like a villain. But still, at times, I was very much the villain. It was the gloomy age when nothing in life seemed out there for the taking. Everything was out of reach for a day-dreamer like me.



Still stuck in my ways, bug-like symptoms weighing me down, I yearned for more. To that point I had done nothing but fail, a big fat F in the game of life. But something I had learned along the way stirred deep down within me; a cure for the bug, a remedy to heal my soul. I wanted something more, needed something more; to be free of the baggage that was taking its toll.



At a major low point in my life, one in which I was told I should be dead; I tried real hard to wrap that around my head. Dead? Yes, dead... and yet there I sat. What's the purpose to living, the meaning for the grind? Thinking it through, only one answer popped into my mind: Jesus. Jesus? Yes, Jesus... the one my soul longed to find. Up until then I just wasn't ready to have my life rearranged. The bug still had its hold on me, my behavior a little deranged.



But I cried out to Jesus, and He answered my call. He cured me from sickness, bug removed and all. No longer a villain, or bound by the fall. Sin and death have been swallowed up whole, and the bug, yes the bug... buried deep in a hole. Jesus Christ has set me free, no burdens to carry, no pain left to heal. I was once a wretch of a villain; now I'm a child of the King; guaranteed with a seal.
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This article has been read 348 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Judy Ewald
04/13/17
This story had me captivated and emotionally involved, hoping there was a happy ending and there was. well written and your being open and vulnerable was brave and a message that many need to hear, thank you for sharing.
Karen Emmer
04/14/17
Nice take the BUG and so good to how Jesus healed him of the bug. Well done
Agatha Mangwende 
04/15/17
Interesting article, very appealing to someone out there looking for a solution to a bug.
Elaine Hemingway
04/15/17
An article full of truth and hope for others caught by the bug. Well written and very moving.
Shann Hall-LochmannVanBennekom 
04/16/17
You did a nice e job with this. It feels almost poetic and flows nicely. My only complaint would be how many times you used some form of the word bug. You can write on topic without ever mentioning the topic. I think you are a true artist. Keep reading and writing.
Michael Dreher
04/16/17
Thank you all for the positive feedback. I appreciate it.
Larry Whittington
04/17/17
I really like that last phrase in your piece: guaranteed with a seal. The free gift of God's Holy Spirit that we are given at the time we are baptized for the forgiveness of our sin shows us who we belong to. We are now God's adopted child. He is now our heavenly Father. Our peace grows day by day as his Spirit working in us helps us to be more like Jesus.

Good writing. Keep telling it like it is.
Larry Whittington
04/17/17
I really like that last phrase in your piece: guaranteed with a seal. The free gift of God's Holy Spirit that we are given at the time we are baptized for the forgiveness of our sin shows us who we belong to. We are now God's adopted child. He is now our heavenly Father. Our peace grows day by day as his Spirit working in us helps us to be more like Jesus.

Good writing. Keep telling it like it is.
Phillip Cimei
04/18/17
The passion you have to live a new life in Christ, now matter how long ago you made the commitment, is quiet evident. We all, no matter how long we have been "In Christ", wrestle war with and wrestle against Satan and his deceptive was to ensnare us. Thank you for such encouraging words. I would make sure I recheck all sentence structure and grammar. You did a very good job. God bless.
Bonnie Bowden 
04/27/17
Congratulations on placing 4th place in the Beginner category, Michael.

I thought you had a creative take on this week's topic. I agree with Shann that you used the word bug too many times. Either use a synonym for the word or just elude to it. If you get a chance this week, read Ann Grover's 1st place story. She talks about the mosquito, but never once uses the word.

You have a lot of talent, so continue to write.