Our son was sober for 5 years. He contracted cellulitis back in February. His leg swelled to 5+ times its normal size so the docs in the hospital had him on a cocktail of meds, including pain killers. They knew his history but had to put him on the pain meds. Well, yesterday, he was arrested. He had meth and heroin. He had lost a lot of weight with the cellulitis after his 1 month hospital stay. He comes over on Fridays when my husband always fries fish. He seemed normal but I asked him if he was on drugs because of his weight loss and he told me no and that he'd take a drug test. I should have tested him but trusted he was being truthful.
Our hearts are shattered. He called earlier wanting us to bail him out but we told him no. I told him he was the one who made the decision to start taking drugs again and that he has to face the consequences of his poor choices. He threatened to hang himself. I told him that wouldn't solve anything but if he made that choice we were not responsible and we sure as hell would not feel guilty. He hung up. He tried to call again but now, I've turned off my phone. He'll have a hearing next week and hopefully the judge will decide that he can go to rehab before his trial and whatever time he is given.
Anyway, I know firsthand from previous asks that your prayers are powerful. Asking for our son and for our family. Thanks so much!
I'm sorry to hear your son's sobriety was derailed by a medical condition.
Does your local church have a Celebrate Recovery group? If so, perhaps you can get in touch with them and someone from the group can reach out to your son.
I pray that the Lord touches your son's heartt and leads him back to sobriety.
I pray that God gives you and your family the strength you need to deal with what lays ahead. May you find peace and comfort knowing that your frens here are praying for your family.
Thank you. Had never heard of Celebrate Recovery but just did a Yandex search and found there is a group. If our son is lucky, the judge will sentence him to rehab. He'll then have a trial because possession of meth and heroin are felonies. I mean we'll talk to his lawyer and tell them about the hospital and painkillers if our son hasn't. Don't know of that will mitigate the sentence he eventually gets.
Since CR is Christ centered, to open meetings we say the entire Serenity Prayer:
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time,
enjoying one moment at a time,
accepting hardship as a pathway to peace;
taking, as Jesus did,
this sinful world as it is,
not as I would have it;
trusting that You will make all things right
if I surrender to Your will;
so that I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with You forever in the next.
Amen.
I started reading Max Lucado's book "You'll Get Through This". Here's a quote from the book:
"You'll get through this. It won't be painless. It won't be quick. But God will use this mess for good. In the meantime don't be foolish or naive. But don't despair either. With God's help you will get through this."
Peace and love to you, fren!
Thank you for the reminder. I too am struggling with a very difficult family situation and I needed to hear this.
Thank you and I'll order this book!
Thanks for the Serenity prayer. I used to bring one of my friends to AA and I always liked this prayer.
You can go to Celebrate Recovery for non-addiction issues. It's for those with "hurts, hang ups, and addictions". I go for the "hurts" help. Fortunately for me the group are all parents so they can empathize with me as a heartbroken mom. Plus it helps me to find peace knowing that others are praying for my daughter.
For me, saying the Serenity Prayer as a group feels more impactful, if that makes any sense?
don’t know where you’re located, but there’s also an organization called UTurn For Christ. it’s a legitimate organization.
Don't see a UTurn For Christ where we live but will share with our son, E.. He is Christian and he does pray. Will twll E that he needs to turn his whole life over to God.