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Don't Let Go
by Jennifer Champion For some time now, I have been angry, yes angry at someone I love because they have retreated backwards into their drug addiction. I have watched them as they physically morph back into the thin, unhealthy person they were before. They drop off the radar and never appear at church; they never again enter a door where goodness and mercy reign. They forgo the grace offered by a loving God and instead pour all they have (i.e. money, time, energy, and life) into the thing that drags them down. They live day to day high on all the things Satan provides for them never stopping to think these same things are robbing them from the joy and peace our Lord, Jesus Christ provides.
I prayed to the Lord for this person and He sent me to a book in the bible that seems strange for this trouble, Song of Songs and Chapter 3, Verses 1-4. They are beautiful verses of scripture about a dream this young woman had but as I read it over and over, it became clear what the Lord was trying to tell me, "Don't Let Go."
All night long on my bed, I looked for the one my heart loves; I looked for him but did not find him. I will get up now and go about the city, through its streets and squares; I will search for the one my heart loves. So I looked for him but did not find him. The watchmen found me as they made their rounds in the city. “Have you seen the one my heart loves?” Scarcely had I passed them when I found the one my heart loves. I held him and would not let him go till I had brought him to my mother’s house, to the room of the one who conceived me.
It is so hard on the people that love an addict. Part of us want to let go of them and let them just live their life as they please, making poor decisions and endangering themselves and possibly others because we have tried so hard to get them to change or we have seen them fail time after time. We feel hopeless.
Then, there is that other part of us that wants to do everything in our power to ensure they survive. This message today was clear; we should not let go because when we love someone, we will do all we can to ensure their safety even at a cost to our own personal comfort. This is exactly what Jesus did for us. He put himself aside and died for us, this pitiful sinful lot that we are and then came back again to say, "It's not over."
I'm not saying we should be a doormat, an enabler or become so codependent that we offer no help to the person struggling in their addiction. We just can't let go of the fact that God is there and he is at work. We have to trust him that he knows the outcome. Don't let go of HOPE. We have to love the ones we love to Jesus. He is our only source of hope.
Jennifer Rubino Champion is actively involved in prison and jail ministry in Central and West Alabama. She and her husband Patrick have five children and a fur baby, Maggie. She is an author and artist and you can visit her website at www.jenniferchampion.com Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |