Sons & Daughters of Thunder Ministries

My life
The American dream
From rags to riches
Hopes turned into means
Money came quick and easy
Fame from the gifted athlete in me
Lifestyles of the rich and famous
Where will all the good times lead
The end has always been a question
Blinded by the happenings in between
Just around the corner speeding
An unsuspecting wall of disaster unseen
Into the world of addiction crashing
Fueled by my life’s money and success
Something had to come and balance
This shooting star on his victory quest
My life has been a roller coaster
Up and down with pride and shame
My life has been a river
Emptying into the ocean of guilt and blame
My life has been a mountain
Always climbing to the top
Lifting my arms in victory
Then falling down the other side on slippery rocks
My life has been a journey
Into addiction a tormenting flame
A furnace of affliction
Bound by heavy oppression in chains
The ups and downs have wearied
The toll on this man has always been steep
The payment cost me everything
Head covered by water sinking into the deep
Stranded in the pit of my addicted hell
Rebelliously filling my insatiable appetite for the drugs
Wickedness seeding in me its garden
Its weeds trying to choke out the last of my love
My life once again has fallen
From on high it has fatally dropped
Sitting amongst the living dead
In my tracks this speeding train has suddenly stopped
Pride and wealth are no longer
Long gone all the fortune and fame
Seeing the end is now in question
Nowhere else to look but into the mirror for someone to blame
This man has always been quick to compromise
My soul for the acquisition of promising worldly things
This world has found itself another sucker
Its riches I thought happiness they would bring
In this land of broken promises
Another dark valley of bones do I sit
Searching for truth and some answers
Forgiveness for my sins I hope to get
The path to the top was always glorious
Feeding off my hard work in the climb
Looking to the day of my bright future
Once I reached the pinnacle and could shine
With the last step to the top I was grateful
Perseverance always carried me to the peak
I raised my arms in victory
Excitement in the words did I speak
Cheering crowds once again I had imagined
High fives and fist pumps that wouldn’t quit
There I believed I would be happy
In triumph on my throne I had built I thought I would sit
Accomplishments are this world’s currency
Its gold is hey would you look at me
Having found my way again to the top of success
What was it that I was supposed to see
It looked like the same old environment
Feelings of failure still tugging at me
Always at the top was disappointment
Still unable to shake myself free
I always felt like a misfit
Why is this process not working for me
I’ve seen it work for all the others
A lesson in life instilled early on in this successful man someday I would turn out to be
My life has always been a confusing puzzle
Trying to fit a square peg into a round hole
Like a man swimming through a muddy river
Trying to find a quenching for his thirsty soul
Like a fish out of water
To this world I always tried to be another king
Like an angry dog chasing cars
This world’s promises I thought joy they would bring
Now I know I am different
Chosen by God out of this world before time began
Made sick by belief in this world’s systems
Healed by the precious blood of the lamb
Today I stand humbled at the bottom
Rejuvenated spirit, delivered soul and recaptured sober mind
I rest easy in Christ Jesus
In Him real success I did find
True riches are found in the spirit
On the wings of His Mighty Grace I now fly
High above all this world’s mountains
No longer tricked into having to climb
From rags to riches now has new meaning
So too does the story of my life
In Christ Jesus I have found eternity
In eternity there is no end in sight
Jesus is my Holy Mountain
In Him from far above this fallen world I now see
The journey of mine through the fires of addiction
The only way this man could ever truly be set free

~ Michael Bowen