Addiction: Life Changed For Us

"It is the tendency we have to think:  Our kids have a good foundation,  they are making good grades and seem happy, so by the first law of inertia, they will continue to be good kids, go to college, graduate, get married, go to church on Sundays and have 2.5 kids....."

Inertia…the tendency of an object at rest to stay at rest, or an object in motion, to stay in motion…. unless an outside force changes that. 

Human inertia is to do nothing or remain unchanged. 

It is the tendency we have to think:  Our kids have a good foundation,  they are making good grades and seem happy, so by the first law of inertia, they will continue to be good kids, go to college, graduate, get married, go to church on Sundays and have 2.5 kids, UNLESS an outside force changes that trajectory.  

 That outside force blew into my family with the force of a tornado: Addiction.  Life changed for us.

Do we ever seek out hard times? 

Yet, hard times are the very place we learn just how good God is.  

As a mom, I had many dreams for my children, none of which included addiction. 

Yet, that is exactly what we faced.  Addiction steals the life of its victims.  Our firstborn was bright, fun, happy, full of laughter, love, and generosity before drugs.  That was who she really was, but on drugs, her smile was forced, eyes wildly bright, car trashed, and her emotions were a roller coaster.  She raged, cried, slammed doors, broke door facings.  We were at a loss for what to do.  Like many parents,  we kept quiet and hoped it would get better.     This blog sounds like it is about my child, my family, me.  It's not.  The truth I want to share through this struggle is about a God who:

•   Pursues radically

• Meets you in the middle of the mess

• Forgives liberally

• Loves crazily

• Restores amazingly

If you are in the middle of addiction; your own or that of your child or even spouse, shout out to God.  He will see you through.  What seems over your head, is under his feet.   

 The external force of addiction changed the trajectory of our lives, our faith.  I am going to share that in a future blog but if you are going through the storm of addiction right now with a family member, I want to leave you with this:  Satan is an accuser and a liar.  In the quiet moments, he may whisper....

Lie #1 I must have done something wrong, I should have done something better or this wouldn’t have happened.  

Lie #2 If I had read my bible more consistently, prayed more intensely, and stayed closer to God, I could have prevented this terrible thing from taking place.  

Lie #3 If I had been less busy, I could have fixed the problem before it got out of hand.

Lie #4 If I were a more perfect mother, father, brother, sister, or spouse..... If I were a better Christian, God would protect my family and me from such hurtful circumstances.

 Please don't believe these lies.