THE VISION "The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD".       Ezekiel 37: 1-4

THE VALLEY OF DRY BONES In the fall of 2003, I surrendered my life to serve God in full-time volunteer ministry. At that time, I was working at a Christian residential home for troubled teenage girls. Unlike many programs, this particular program not only counseled the girls in the program, but also worked diligently with the parents, or in many cases, parent (singular) or legal guardian. Families would typically bring the teen to the program because she was displaying severely defiant and/or self-destructive behavior. Not long into the program, it would soon be revealed that the outward behavior was only a symptom of a grave inward problem. During my time involved in this program, God exposed me to many hurting people. Teens, as young as twelve years old, who had experienced great emotional trauma, verbal abuse, sexual abuse, drug abuse, physical abuse, self mutilation, eating disorders, and the list goes on. I had no idea what our youth today were being exposed to at such a young age in such great numbers. I remember many times verbalizing to my peers my personal unprofessional opinion that the teens weren’t the problem, that the problem was really the parents. Sadly, over time, I came to realize just how true that statement was. A growing number of parents today are literally unable to effectively parent their children because of their own emotional and spiritual battles. Their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs loom so large, they truly have nothing to give to their children. It is a terrible cycle of wounded children raising wounded children, with nothing substantial to offer. The parents themselves are often involved in the same destructive behavior as their children. And the parent’s parents? Often the same. And it goes on and on, generation to generation, all the way back to the Garden of Eden.

THE CAUSE OF DEATH The Bible shows us that man’s behavior is an overflow of what is in the heart. Jeremiah 17:9 states “The heart is deceitful above all things; and desperately wicked”. The root of destructive behavior is a sinful heart. The sin of self will, the sin of doubt, the sin of pride, the sin of disobedience, etc. And sin is passed down from generation to generation. In the beginning it was not so. In the beginning, God, in His love, created man and made woman and placed them in the garden, naked and unashamed. God, in His love, gave man all things that were good, but by an act of his own free will, man chose that which was evil. God, in His love, gave man total access to himself, open communion and continual fellowship, but through an act of his own free will, man chose estrangement. God, in his love, gave man clear instruction for abundant life, but by an act of his own free will, man chose death. Death not only for himself, but death for all generations (Romans 5:12). That, however, was not the end, for “God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth on Him shall not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Once again, God, in His love, made a way for man to have open communion with Himself. A doorway to everlasting life. Yet, once again, man by an act of his own free will, must choose it for himself.

THE WAY OF LIFE In Deut. 30:19, God says, “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life that both thou and thy seed may live”. “Thou and thy seed”! You see history does not have to repeat itself. It is all about choices. Tomorrow can be different. The Lord said, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land". II Chron. 7:14 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. Jer. 33:3 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:13