A mother wrote to me: I sat in an Al-Anon meeting last night and three people walked in: an adult male, a young adult female and a two-year-old child. We looked up as they entered and the man said “We are a family.” Just like that. They sat down and we opened our books to Step One.
My response to the above passage: Addiction is a family disease. Some research says that for every one addict, four others are directly affected. Then it spirals out and affects aunts, uncles, grandparents, teachers, coaches and friends. Addiction takes prisoners and wants to destroy our children and our families.
Today’s promise to consider: I understand that addiction is powerful, but we are a family and we can hold hands and stand together for our loved one. With prayer, hope and belief, we will win this battle. We will stay close.
Addiction truly is a family disease. I am so fortunate to have a close knit family. There are seven of us siblings, and our love is for one another is unconditional. When one of us is sick with disease, we’re all sickened.
Then, there are people like all of you who write and read Libby’s blog. I feel so close to all of you.
Together we can fight this disease and support each other through all of it.
As I prepare for Hurricane Irene I think about addiction acting just like a hurricane or tornadoe. It spirals out of control, spreads its damage out laterally affecting so many in its path with unforeseen victims and damage. We can prepare all we want but we are powerless over it. The way we prepare is to clear our decks of furniture (clear things in the path of destruction-us), be prepared with food and water (al Anon) and use common sense-think.
I know I have felt like I was held hostage to this disease. We all must keep eachother in thought and prayer.
With Love,
Jane
Thank you, Libby.
This passage is a gentle reminder of ‘keeping it simple.’Although this disease is a monster of it’s own kind, we can chose what we do and don’t have control over. I am eternally grateful to you, my family/friends and my Alanon family.
With love and prayers,
Nanci
Libby
Thank you for this weekly blessing and this forum for us to share. God bless all of you. September is coming, and it is National Recovery month. We are included in that as well.
Be well all.
Jane
Dear Barbara, Nanci and Jane,
I learn from you! Barbara, your unwavering support is a role model to all of us. Jane, I love your comparison to preparing for Hurricane Irene. Lots of truth in the analogy. Nanci, you are correct that we need to ‘keep in simple.’ Addiction is a monster over which we have no control. My love and respect to you all,
Libby
Hi Libby,
Your words are so true. The family is a each affected in their own way. The hurricane is a wonderful analogy. I also like the Al-Anon brochure depicting a circus with the addict as the ring leader. They don’t necessarily want to be center stage, but that is where the disease takes you. Take care, and thanks for an insightful post.
Dear Cathy,
Thanks for the circus reference. Visuals and analogies help us to ‘see’ addiction in a concrete way, outside of our own suffering. For me, these are valuable and help me realize how powerful addiction is through real examples. The hurricane analogy/circus thought could be a great post for next Thursday. Let’s keep each other and our families in prayer. L