When I get overwhelmed, I need to remember what I cant carry God will. I do not have to go it alone. God promises Grace and Mercy, and I will extend that to my child in the midst of his addiction.

Seeing your child go through addiction is paralyzing. You play the what if’s in your mind and often blame yourself. If I had done this or that… maybe!  Reality is nothing you did or can do is the cause or cure of any addiction. Realizing that one fact may help you and could very well save your child. It’s parallel between love and hate and your desperate need to rescue and the addicts to use. To wake up every day and know this is just another replay of the previous day,  and a precursor to the next is often the cycle that keeps an addict hopeless.

By the time most realize this, it’s already too late, and the damage has been done. It’s that destruction that keeps them in the twists and turns, tumbling out of control picking up anyone in the path.

We have had to reinvent our family. Never losing the closeness just stepping away when needed to allow growth. Being there for each other and going through the unimaginable has kept us in some ways stronger. Watching addiction consume my boys and devastate our family has given me a new perspective of suffering.

This kind of pain teaches you about yourself. You learn weaknesses and strengths. You feel despair but find faith. You gain hope out of hopeless.  We have lost also but with those losses come opportunities to forgive. Through forgiveness, we begin to heal, and through healing you find courage. Would you have learned empathy without adversity? Passion without indifference? If we only allow the hurt and anger without letting them develop into compassion, we will have nothing to teach when they seek.

We will heal separately but together!