“Sometimes you can only find heaven when you slowly back away from hell.” –Carrie Fisher from her 2008 memoir ‘Wishful Thinking’
When I was finally clean and sober, Father Tom Gallagher gifted me with a contemporary Christian painting by Thomas Blackshear titled, “Forgiven.” It depicts Jesus Christ holding up a broken man and the words, “In Christ’s arms of love, we find rest for our weary hearts, freedom from shame, and hope for a glorious future.”
“That’s you, Stephen,” Tom said at the time. “God has carried you, and now He expects you to carry someone else.” And for that reason, I will always remain a willing link between God and the brokenhearted.
Excerpt from A SAINT AND A SINNER
