Lenten Devotional - Day 21

Scripture: Psalm 130:1-8

“Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD. I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;” (Ps. 130:1, 5)

  “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.” These words of King David lamenting the death of his son echo the laments that have been expressed by my family when the scourge of addiction claimed one of our own members on November 6, 2016. Noah was 27 when he died of a heroin overdose, leaving behind a mother, father, brother, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, coworkers and many others who knew and loved him. Losing a loved one to a drug overdose is difficult to publicly acknowledge, but doing so and putting a name and face to this terrible disease of addiction may, just may, save a life.

  Noah’s mother reflected on what it means to be an addict in a recent newspaper article written about his struggles:

“When you know the highs of addiction, you forget the lows. You forget that you’ve used your last $40 on your drug of choice and you don’t have money for food, or you blew your last paycheck on drugs and can’t pay your rent. You can’t afford a bus ticket home, because you wanted to get high last night and now you’re getting the shakes, and your stomach is sick and you need to get high…”

  The grief felt by those of us who loved Noah often seems too difficult to bear. As his mother wrote:

“There are days when I don’t want to move, to get out of bed. I wake up crying, I cry all day, I cry myself to sleep at night, I wake up in the middle of the night with tears on my cheeks, only to start the cycle all over again the next day. His name, his face, his smile race through my head all day long. I’m not handling it well, and sometimes, I don’t want to handle it at all. The loss is just simply overwhelming.”

  Please pray for those feeling such excruciating lament, prayers to put hope in the Lord and His unfailing love.

Cathy Ritter, Contributor

Remember in Prayer: Families who cry out of the depths of their soul for loved ones in the grips of addiction.

Click Here PDF - Day 21 Devotion

Informational Resources

National Institute on Drug Abuse for Teachers

https://teens.drugabuse.gov/teachers

Lenten Devotional - Day 16

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-21

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matt. 6:19-21)

  For some people, it is difficult to admit they were wrong; others have trouble making an apology. For me, the most difficult words are these: In the depths of his addiction my son stole something from me. Both money and sentimental items were gone, but they weren’t the really important issues. The loss of control over my life, the loss of trust in my child, fear for my son’s wellbeing, and the speed at which this new reality hit literally stunned me.

  Most remnants of my pride were gone by the time I asked for help for my son. But there was still an elephant in the room. I could not bring myself to reach out to friends – people in our neighborhood, our congregation, and others close to my heart. Pride remained, battered but intact.

  It was only when a friend reached out to me in her pain that I was able to break out of my self-imposed prison of silence. My friend’s child was addicted. I shared our story with her – the pain of discovery, the uncertainty of the treatment journey, and the joy of recovery – and I think we both received some measure of comfort from our conversations. We were able to put into words that our children are great gifts from God, and they are the treasures that we seek to protect – not our pride, not our community standing, not our checkbooks, and not the opinions of those around us who might not understand our journey. Acknowledging my fears and pride allowed me to then accept and examine my weakness. And I was reminded that “While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” (Romans 5: 6) There I was, there was my son, and there are we all.

  Once I gave up on the worry about how my loss of earthly treasures would be viewed, I joined my son in becoming a recovering addict – I still care too much about how others view me, my family and my child – but I walk each day with the faith that God’s view is different from ours. If my son can recover from his addiction to drugs, I can learn to live without pride.

Susan Perry, Contributor

Remember in Prayer: Mother, Fathers, and Grandparents who struggle to find peace as they face the addiction of one of their children.

Click Here PDF - Day 16 Devotion

Lenten Devotional - Day Eleven

Scripture: Psalm 121

“I lift up my eyes to the hills — from where will my help come?
My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.” (Ps. 121:1-2)

  My brother, Bob, is a recovering addict - he’s been “clean” for more than 12 years, all because he looked to the Lord for help.

  Bob started on marijuana when he was a teenager. For many years, we had no idea he was using – we had never been exposed to drugs and didn’t really know the symptoms of drug usage.

  As time passed, he began to use harder drugs, and started stealing to get them. When he was arrested, we realized what had been going on with Bob. We tried to help in various ways, none of which worked. His first wife left him and took his son, because she wanted nothing to do with drugs; his second wife died of a drug overdose while he was in jail the first time.

  Finally, Bob stole things one time too many and he was sent to a prison in Mercer County. It was while he was there that Bob finally got the help he needed. Bob was in prison more than two years. He went to Christian counseling while he was there and began to read the Bible and devotionals. The more he read, the more he wanted a better life than the one he had with drugs. 

  He read the Psalms a lot, especially Psalm 23 and Psalm 121. He began to look more to the Lord for strength and help in living his life. And we did, too.

  “No, my strength comes from God, who made heaven, and earth, and mountains.” (v. 2, MSG) We knew that if our family kept looking to the Lord for help, we would all get through this together. He prayed; we prayed. He read God’s Word; we read God’s Word. He looked to the Lord; we looked to the Lord, not only for his drug habit to end, but for our direction each day. He spent more time asking the Lord for help; we did the same. We all found strength from God.

  When Bob was finally released from prison, he was a changed man. He had found the Lord; he found other friends who wouldn’t lead him back to drugs.

  We are so grateful that Bob chose to look to the Lord and found Him, waiting. And we did too.

Contributor, A friend of First Presbyterian Church, Johnstown, PA

Remember in Prayer: To those who ask “where will my help come” may they find this help with Christ’s church.

Click Here PDF - Day 11 Devotional

Lenten Devotional - Day Four

Scripture: Matthew 11:25-30

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28)

  My name is Lisa and I’m an alcoholic. This is what it was like for me to go from active addiction to recovery. I went from weary and burdened to living a life of peace. Is life easy? Not at all. But because of the 12 steps of AA and a God of my understanding, I can get through life, clean and sober.

  My bottom came on April 28, 2014. Six weeks after my boyfriend died of a heroin overdose. You think that would be my bottom, but it wasn’t. Actually, I continued to use heroin, and my drinking got much worse. I lied about everything. Finally, those lies caught up with me. On that day in April I was arrested and charged with my boyfriend’s death. That is when I hit my knees and said “God I can’t do this anymore. Please help me.” That is where my journey into recovery began. 

  I knew nothing about AA or the 12 steps but was directed to the rooms through outpatient rehab. I had the gift of desperation and the willingness to go to any length. What I learned very quickly was that addiction is a disease. I wasn’t a bad person trying to become good, I was a sick person who needed to get well. I was spiritually bankrupt and needed a Higher Power in order to do that. What many people don’t know is that AA and the 12 steps are a spiritual way of living. As alcoholics/addicts we cannot and will not recover unless we find that Higher Power.

  For me that was easy. I grew up in the church with a loving God. I turned my back and walked away from him. He waited for me to turn back around and I did. We say in the rooms that God led me to AA and AA led me back to God. My boyfriend dying and me getting arrested has been the biggest heartbreak and tragedy in my life, but if it didn’t happen the way it did… I can’t imagine where I’d be.

  In recovery, I have lost custody of my child, my house, my job, have gone to trial for murder, gone through breast cancer including two surgeries and 16 rounds of chemo. I am learning to love myself, am a daughter, mother, sister and friend like I have never been. I am trying to be the best person I can every day. I humbly ask God to help me get through my day and do my best to do His will and not mine. I lay my troubles at his feet and let my faith carry me through. Am I perfect? Of course, not, I’m human. But when I fail or slip, I know what to do. And through it all, good and bad, I’ve stayed clean and sober.

  The 11th step is probably my favorite: Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understand him. Praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. I pray…a lot. And when someone asks how I know if I’m spiritually fit, I say when I find calm in the middle of the storm, I know I am close with God and exactly where I need to be.

Lisa, Contributor

Remember in Prayer: Those seeking rest from their drug burden.

Click Here PDF - Day 4 Devotion