Saturday, June 23, 2012

To help better understand

    
     These are words from an addict.... I wanted to share with some of you the feelings that addicts of all kinds actually have. We are so quick to judge, to find fault when others stumble and fall, but how often do we try to change something in our own lives and fail miserably repeatedly? Does it not take time to change? Do we not get discouraged as we learn HOW to change?

     This was written by a man in the midst of this process....wanting you to understand.

    * " Ask me to what length I would go to have this problem taken from me. Would I move to the North Pole? Would I crawl across broken glass? These sound extreme, but I have wanted to change, perhaps for years....but I have no idea how to, all at the same moment. I will likely continue to try the same broken strategies again and again, hoping for a different result. Telling me to "just stop" probably wont mean much to me, because of myself, I have no idea what to do, and I'm scared that I've lost my opportunity for eternal life. If there is a way for me to escape this pit of despair, I want it."

     " Help me begin to see that there is a way to change. Ask me: What is the source of your power? I will  likely say, "Me", for I know no other Savior, despite the fact that I haven't been able to save myself yet. Who is smarter - you or Satan? I will likely say, "Me", for I have no other source of hope. Again, you will expect my understanding to match your that Satan has thousands of years of experience tempting millions of my brothers and sisters, but I am confused and stuck in a self - sufficient, self - deceptive mode of existence."


     " Help me to know that the Atonement is for me. Do I believe in the Atonement? Yes. Do I believe it is for me? No - I  have a long pattern of doubt or at least a sense that it's only for people who have done far less than I have or who have lived clean lives for much longer than I ever have. I  have a distorted view that the Atonement will apply to me only when I can deliver a long period of clean living to the Lord."

I have learned throughout my journey to support those suffering with addiction, that this is real. Whether or not it is an accurate feeling, it is real to them and they genuinely feel that they are hopeless and unworthy of not only changing, but of Gods love. My friends, we can Love unconditionally with out enabling. We can build up rather than tear down, and if we cannot do that, then we must get out of the way because then we become a hindrance to their progression.


To my friends suffering with addiction. YOU ARE LOVED. You are a CHILD OF GOD and His love for you NEVER diminishes. He has never left you and desires for your return. Through His Son is the key that unlocks the chain that so tightly binds you. Take that leap of faith, for what else do you have to loose?

*Letter taken from an anonymous source, from the book " He Restoreth my soul", by Dr. Donald L. Hilton Jr

1 comment:

  1. A great reminder on a quiet Saturday night.
    To not accept the wonderful gift of the Atonement in our life is a slap in the face to the giver.
    If He can forgive us of all-then why is it so hard to forgive ourselves?
    It takes time but through His power this too can happen!
    Joy indeed!
    There is nothing so sweet as freedom from the bondage of the past!

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