by Jessica L. Morris
Raised by a small-town minister, whose darkest sides came out at home as his disease of alcoholism progressed, Jessica’s childhood was proof to her that God hated her. Why else would He have placed her in such a home? Worse than the abuse and suffering she experienced as a child was the realization as a young adult that Jessica had become just like her father – an addict who cared only about herself. Through self-searching, recovery from her addictions, and intense therapy to address the childhood trauma experienced, Jessica’s seeking after the Truth eventually led her to enroll in seminary – to learn for herself what had been so skewed through the voice of addiction (her father’s and her own).
In Higher Powered, the author introduces the term "personal eschatology" (the end of her world as she knows it in order to follow Jesus Christ). Weaving her story into the stories of Nicodemus, Lazarus, and the apostle Paul, the author illustrates how Jesus’s comments about his second coming were symbolic in nature – not an end-of-the-world event for everyone to experience at the same time, but instead, a personal interaction with him when each individual is spiritually ready. The focus is away from the apocalyptic “end times” for the whole world, and towards the exclusive return of Jesus – just for you – the individual person.
With this idea, the author’s relationship with Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and God was healed of all fear, hatred, resentment, and self-degradation. Jessica’s hope is that others will take the time to sit with her for a while, listen to some stories, and discover the beauty of personal eschatology, or, becoming Higher Powered – the end of your personal world as you know it so that you can live in the Kingdom of God with Jesus right here on earth.