I have lived in extreme darkness for most of my life as my family never attended church and I mingled with the "wrong crowd". Although, it is only the wrong crowd if your heart allows it to be the wrong crowd, which my heart did. I was totally caught up in the thought that I had to drink or smoke or do drugs to be accepted, when in actuality I was accepted the entire time by God. I had not opened my eyes or heart to Jesus then and made many mistakes in my life that I regret... I also made mistakes I don't regret. Alot of Christians judge people or acts of people without knowing or experiencing the thing that they are judging.... like the church trying to ban Harry Potter without ever watching or reading it. It makes no sense. I learned alot from my mistakes, both good and bad. I am not perfect by any means and still walk in darkness to an extent, but I accept and can relate to those that walk with me with love and sympathy. I feel deep sorrow when I see someone walking down the path that I chose to walk, yet I still get caught up in it at times. I still have a drinking problem that is slowly getting under control as I realize how many people it actually does hurt... not just my liver. I try to be open and honest about every aspect of my life with everyone I meet because I don't believe I should hide who I am. Also, if my life and mistakes can open the eyes of someone else... that is the one of the main purposes of honesty. As the bible says, you can't have a true relationship without honesty and if you can't have a true relationship, then why should so and so listen to my advice or learn from my actions?