I visited my daughter in jail today. She was happy, excited
to see me. I had given her $29 dollars so she could eat some junk food. I
hadn’t seen her for a few weeks and as usual I was a tad anxious for what might
come. I had prayed that authority would catch up to her.
She was gaunt, her skin red… unhealthy. Heroin is hell. It is hell for the addict and for the family... hell for our society. Our family has been struggling through this damnable episode for over ten years, first pain pills then heroin. A is for Apple. H is for Heroin. It used to be H was for hotel, or something like that. This thing has worn us down, a constant grind. But, in all of it, we have learned to stand and fight for our kid, our 31 year old kid. We have learned to love her, really love her, like Jesus taught, determined prayerful love. It is her only hope, and hope is what the addict and their loved ones begin to lose.
Addiction is like a python wrapped around the neck, strangling the life out of a person. At first, you can’t see it, don’t understand it, and fall prey. But I’ll tell you this, knowing God in the midst of this has made all of the difference. But this struggle, it challenges authenticity.
She was gaunt, her skin red… unhealthy. Heroin is hell. It is hell for the addict and for the family... hell for our society. Our family has been struggling through this damnable episode for over ten years, first pain pills then heroin. A is for Apple. H is for Heroin. It used to be H was for hotel, or something like that. This thing has worn us down, a constant grind. But, in all of it, we have learned to stand and fight for our kid, our 31 year old kid. We have learned to love her, really love her, like Jesus taught, determined prayerful love. It is her only hope, and hope is what the addict and their loved ones begin to lose.
Addiction is like a python wrapped around the neck, strangling the life out of a person. At first, you can’t see it, don’t understand it, and fall prey. But I’ll tell you this, knowing God in the midst of this has made all of the difference. But this struggle, it challenges authenticity.
A parent’s love is dependent on the parent, on the model they
grew up under, on their personality, on their choices along the way. Parents
are just fragile human beings. You know? Just people making their way through
this rugged frontier called life. We bring children into this world, ready or
not… fragile, in need of nurturing, and dedication for the long game. Parenting
is a life-long game of choosing to nurture, to train, to build character. Or
not. After all, we are free agents in this world. Thank God for His unfaltering
love.
My daughter, beaming, said I’m going to church… so happy to be free from the python. In jail, she becomes a leader showing people the way to Jesus. But on the street, she has to struggle with the underworld. The pull of the physical addiction is overwhelming. I watched her withdrawing once. It was a horror to watch, to experience my little one, the one I was with as she was born, the one I sat with when she fought leukemia as a little child. But it gave me insight to what that python called H does to a person.
My daughter is a Christian. A living spirit bound to a body addicted to heroin. Her spirit is the only thing keeping her from going over the edge. When I look in her eyes she is still there, capable of great kindness, a sweet person.
Heroin use is sky-rocketing, and there are nearly a million users in the USA. I ask myself, do I love them? Are they loved by the Church?
My daughter, beaming, said I’m going to church… so happy to be free from the python. In jail, she becomes a leader showing people the way to Jesus. But on the street, she has to struggle with the underworld. The pull of the physical addiction is overwhelming. I watched her withdrawing once. It was a horror to watch, to experience my little one, the one I was with as she was born, the one I sat with when she fought leukemia as a little child. But it gave me insight to what that python called H does to a person.
My daughter is a Christian. A living spirit bound to a body addicted to heroin. Her spirit is the only thing keeping her from going over the edge. When I look in her eyes she is still there, capable of great kindness, a sweet person.
Heroin use is sky-rocketing, and there are nearly a million users in the USA. I ask myself, do I love them? Are they loved by the Church?
Written by: D. Watkins used with permission.
