Marlene and
I got a call last night from friends of ours who had just learned that their
son is struggling with a heroin addiction.
Now, if that isn’t a wake-up call for a parent, I don’t know what
is. When you think about it, this kind
of thing could happen to any one of us.
Thankfully, addictions of this magnitude are the exception, not the
rule. But addictions come in many forms.
While
visiting our friends last night, I witnessed a struggle going on in their
thought process. One moment there was an
acknowledgement of the betrayal they felt since their son had hidden his
addiction from them all this time. (It
has been going on for a few years now.)
Their minds poured over the past many months looking for clues that they
had misread at the time. They pondered
how they would ever handle this new turn of events, while moments later they
expressed an awareness that God was their rock and would carry them through all
that was to come. Then there were the
doubts concerning their own abilities as parents and how they had failed their
son and their God.
In all of
this, they made crucially important decisions that I would like to share with
you now. These decisions are vital to
the health of our Christian journey.
First, and foremost, they did not water down the situation. They approached the situation with the
appropriate seriousness and intensity that was required. This was not a time to wring their hands in
despair or to throw up their hands in futility.
They called out to their “support team”.
First and
foremost, they immediately immersed themselves in prayer, calling upon God for
the strength they needed to carry them through and the wisdom to guide their
steps. Next, they called Christian
friends who they could count upon for support, wise council and
encouragement. It is crucial, as we deal
with the struggles of life, that we have a support team we can depend upon in
times of trial and testing. God gives us
this support team through our close and personal Christian relationships.
As Moses
required the support of Aaron and Hur to keep his
arms up in the air (EX. 17:10-12),
often we cannot, of our own strength, carry the load we are given to bear. Perhaps it is a blow to our “do it myself” mentality, but God designed us to need
relationships and the support of others.
It is a foolish decision to ignore this vital lifeline.
Often we
don’t want to “burden” others with our troubles, forgetting that a burden
shared is a burden reduced by half and a joy shared is a joy doubled. It is in community that we are able to handle
the troubles that this world hurls at us.
It is in community that we are able to resist the pulls of the flesh
that plague us. God has placed us into
the body so that, together, we can function as a healthy union.
There is
much more that can be said, but let me finish by saying this – utilize the
support team God has given you. It may
just save your life! At the very least,
it will give you the strength needed to endure and it will give you and your
“team” a sense of belonging that no amount of money can buy.
God bless,
Pastor Thom
Click on a month to see a previous edition of "The Pastor's Desk."