A mother wrote an email message to me. This is part of it: I’m giving up on prayer. I’m afraid. Recovery was going well, I thought, making meetings, new job he likes, nice girlfriend…I was beginning to trust and hope. In the last week, money taken from my purse, relapse, violation of probation. Now it’s back to court and maybe prison this time. I can’t do this again.
My personal reflection on the passage above, offering my thoughts today: Hope is fragile and fear is powerful. I wonder why fear seems to be stronger than hope? I don’t know, but I do know that there are times when I felt like giving up on prayer. Sometimes it’s easier to lose hope and faith than to keep feeling hopeful and being crushed. When the addiction rises up again and again and smacks us, knocking us to the ground, we hurt and don’t know what to do. It is then that we are in danger of giving up hope. But if we lose faith and hope, all is lost. We need to stay close to our children, but our children need to fight their own battles.
Today’s Promise to consider for all of us who love addicts: I am only human and sometimes I feel as though I can’t go on. But I will. I will go on in hope.
We can’t be armor for our children. We can only be supporting troops. Irwin Shaw
This is so true. There is nothing worse than feeling hope only to have it be crushed. But I refuse to ever give up hope because sometimes that is all I have.
You’re so right, Glenda. One mom wrote, “Where there is life, there is hope.” I’ll join you in prayer. Love to you, Libby.