I want to tell you a true story about the great mercy of God. My story begins with my youngest son, Jason. He began experimenting with drugs at about the age of 12. I didn’t realize his problem was drugs until he was 16. I thought he was just acting out and rebelling. After all when he was nine we moved away from all he had ever known to a new town, a new school and a new dad. I figured it was normal to rebel after all that he had been through. When it got to the point we didn’t know what else to do we sent him to a military boot camp for five weeks……in July……..in Arizona. That will teach him to respect his parents and stay out of trouble. Well, it did for about six weeks. Then it was back to life as it had been, only…thankfully….he was no longer addicted to methamphetamine. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before he found another drug of choice, Xanex.
When he was 18 he joined the Army, good…..until he fell 15 feet and hurt his back. Then the doctors gave him muscle relaxers. A couple of weeks later we told him that his nephew had died of SIDS. We were going to wait until he graduated boot camp but at this point we didn’t know when that would be and a month had already passed, so we told him. Then the doctors put him on Xanex!!!!! Xanex, his drug of choice before going in the Army. I thought he was going to kill himself on that drug and now he comes home from the Army with a prescription???
In and out of jail for minor infractions until November of 2008 when he finally made the decision he didn’t want to live like that anymore. He moved back home and hit some stumbling blocks but none of them included pills. He had an aversion to work; to say that he was lazy is being nice. He worked here and there for a little while and then he had to make a move, either get a job, go to school or move out. He made the decision to go into the job core but after a few weeks there he realized that wasn’t the life he wanted. He enrolled in college, filed out paperwork for grants and loans, got approved and now……….he is attending college. He is getting great grades and is enjoying his course of study – game design; Nothing like doing what you love, right?
Jason’s addiction had put a lot of stress on our family and my marriage and honestly, he had run out of options. As I prayed for his sobriety I could see God working in his life. I could see the small changes almost daily. It was amazing to watch this transformation happen right in front of my eyes. Now, he attends church with me (most of the time) when he is home for the weekend. He is respectful and helpful around the house and I can see hope in his eyes. He has a future to look forward to; One that doesn’t include the addiction of pills – pills that almost destroyed his life and mine.
God has shown him a better way to live. Jason said that God let him go through what he went through early in life so he could get it out of his system. I think he’s right; he has a story to tell and a testimony for others who struggle with addiction. I pray that all of Jason’s struggles will bring glory to God and he will use his experiences to teach others about the love of God and how He can change your life. I thank God for His mercy on me and my family each and every day.
I want to encourage parents to pray for their children. My prayer life changed the day my grandson died. It changed again six months later when an auto accident paralyzed my grandson ( who was only four at the time). I was consumed with grief and reaching out to God at every turn. It sounds strange but those two events allowed me to seek the face of God and truly know His love for me. I am no longer a lukewarm Christian! I pray differently, I think differently, I act, speak, live and love differently. I believe my prayers were heard by the Lord and He had mercy on me and gave my son back to me. What a wonderful gift!!!! God does care about me and He cares about you. I hope that you won’t have to experience the pain that our family experienced before you seek the face of the Lord in prayer.
Never give up hope, take time to pray and thank God for each day. There is power in prayer!!
His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. Luke 1:50
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