Welcome to Resilient Faith , the podcast . Opportunities to find deeper resilience within ourselves can come when life seems most challenging . This podcast is to help you develop that resilience and connection with God . Being resilient and having power starts with faith .
Hello listeners . My name is Carol Madden and I'm a long time active member of Brentwood Presbyterian Church and I'm honored to spend these few minutes with you . This story is about my tattoo . Now , I know in Christianity there's some controversy regarding tattoos . Some Christians take issue with them , wanting to uphold the Hebrew prohibitions found in Leviticus .
However , others , including myself , believe that the stated punishable offenses found in Leviticus including trimming your beard , mixing fabric and clothing and not standing in the presence of the elderly I kind of like that one were part of the Jewish ceremonial laws of the time and don't apply in present day , but nevertheless I'm often asked about it .
So today , on our Resilient Faith podcast , I'd like to share the story of my tattoo , the abridged version for the sake of time . So it was the mid-1980s and after years of abusing my mind , body and spirit with destructive addictions , I was an absolute mess physically , mentally , emotionally , let alone spiritually .
I had obvious signs of potentially serious health problems relating to my excess . I didn't sleep , I rarely ate . I started hallucinating and hearing voices , and that scared me . There were intense highs and even more intense lows , and not much in between . My family was rightfully considering an intervention . I knew I had to do something .
I was also pretty sure that I didn't have the strength to do it alone . I considered psychiatry and even hypnosis to help me cut back on my addictions . I didn't really want to quit , not only because I didn't think I could , but because that would mean giving up the lifestyle I had come to know and separating myself from my so-called friends and co-addicts .
But in perfect timing , an angel appeared in my life . Let's call him Scott . Scott was a Christian but , as most of us know , the flesh is pretty weak and he had also become sidetracked and snared by addiction . All I knew about Scott was that he was just like me , drug and alcohol dependent .
But one night , after overhearing my feeble cry for help , scott leaned over and whispered in my ear , so our other friends couldn't hear have you ever thought about Jesus ? He can help you . I think I just laughed and dismissed his words . But Scott didn't give up .
He continued to come over and while getting high with me , he would read to me from his Bible about the promises of God . He told me and at the same time reminded himself that true peace of mind , heart and spirit can be found in the divine .
Scott convinced himself first and stopped getting high with me , but he didn't stop coming over , he didn't stop sharing the word with me . And then one day I actually started listening . I remember it like it was yesterday . Scott said just ask . I thought about it for weeks , but I was truly afraid .
Afraid that it wouldn't work for me , but even more afraid that it might , reluctantly . One Sunday morning about 4 am , feeling scared and totally unworthy , I dropped to my knees and clumsily but desperately prayed for divine intervention . I said OK , here I am , I can't do this by myself , please help me .
And I felt it Like a breath of electricity come through the top of my head , slowly through my body and seemingly into my very soul . I felt it . I knew something had happened , something good , something miraculous , but I wasn't sure just what it was . I got back into bed and slept like a baby , woke up the next morning a new person . I had been changed .
There were a lot of tough times during the transition to my new life , but that would take way too much time here . But suffice it to say that at some point during that time I started reading the Bible and I found one verse that really stood out to me so simple , yet so profound .
Honestly , I believe that if we could all just abide by these six little words , it could literally solve all the world's problems Poverty , war , discrimination , homelessness , hunger , greed . Those words are found in Micah 6-8 .
Quote he has shown you , all , mortal , what is good and what does the Lord require of you To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God" . To act justly to me simply means trying to act honorably with God and other people , and one way we act honorably with others is by loving mercy . And if we love mercy , we're much less judgmental .
We have more compassion for others , all others . We're more gracious and kind , treating everyone with love and understanding , regardless of characteristics such as race , gender , religious affiliation , sexual orientation , socioeconomic status , because those are superseded by love .
And then walk humbly with our God , letting God teach us what is good to treat each other fairly and with kindness , with justice and mercy . Hence my one and only tattoo Act justly , love , mercy , walk humbly . Scripted conspicuously inside of my right forearm so that I can be reminded every single day . There you have it . Thanks for listening .
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