This is an ongoing issue with this particular individual, and we are very close. So this morning I came to this site looking for articles on addiction, and I found this one with your entry too. It’s good to know that even entrenched habits can be broken with God’s help. There isn’t any power stronger than the One who made everything.

My friend wants me to pray for him every day, so I do. It’s the best way I know to love him. I’ll be using the ideas that you & Michael and the others shared here. Thanks for giving me hope.

I was raised in CS but I just didn’t get it or it just didn’t get me, I don’t know which. At 15 we were allowed to choose if we wanted to continue going to church, I flat burned rubber to distance myself from anything Godly. I wanted to be one of the “in” crowd. I wanted friends, fame, boyfirends, excitement I guess. So the first time someone offered me a joint I said sure!, a drink, sure! drugs? sure! I’m game, I’m cool, not a wimp, not a nerd.

What I did not understand was that I had made a choice for the direction my life would take. And I was taking the cowards way, I didn’t have the guts to say no, I didn’t have the self confidence in myself to think I could be anything great without being like everyone else. I thought I was just choosing to have a little illegal fun, a little immoral behavior, be a grown up and make my own choices. I wasn’t robbing banks, or anything that would get me in serious trouble,…. I thought. And I was cool, I became friends with the popular crowd, dated an athlete, I was invited to everyone’s party.

Really what was happening was the errosion of everything good. It’s just so slow and it begins with that first act of what?,..disobedience? defiance? I don’t know, now I’d call it stupidity. That first drag on a joint I set my foot down a path that I did not know existed. It’s so suttle. I guess at that moment I knew deep inside that I had just betrayed myself, my parents and every adult who had ever loved me enough to say “don’t”.

I was fortunate I did not become an addict. But most of those close to me did. My best friend at the time became a fall down drunk alcoholic, and later a heroin addict after we parted company. I overdosed twice by accident. One of my good firends nearly died one night of alcohol poisoning. Numerous aquaintances went to jail or prison. I was nearly killed once over a drug deal. And I was not a hard core user, just recreational. Do you hear me? Just ”SOCIAL” drug use.

So how can I say my life was altered so radically when I didn’t go to jail or become an addict or anything so serious? Well because what follows is the lack of “good” that didn’t happen in my life. I didn’t complete college even though I had an amazing talent and opportunity before me because I wanted to be “free and hang with my friends”. I married a man who left me promptly for another woman he was partying with. My second husband became an addict after years of increasing recreational use of drugs and wound up in rehabs until I could take no more and went through an ugly divorce and drug my child through it too. Nice huh? Cool.

At some point 20 years down the road, and the years can fly by, a realization came over me that I had been sick and tired of the way things had worked out for me for a long time. It was sad to look back and think what my life could have been if I had made some different choices early on. I saw some high school friends who I left behind (because they were nerds) on Facebook, there is a District Attorney, a Senator and a Surgeon (I’m not exaggerating). My life was a real loser compared to these success stories. I recommitted my life to God. I started really acting like a grown up for the first time. I sat down with my Science and Health and started to think for myself for the first time, to read and pray and look for that good and precious thing that brings real happiness. And I found it. Thank you God I found it.

Today my life is full, successful, rich with blessings. As soon as I turned to God the healing began in my life, it was miraculous! I attended class instruction in Christian Science two years ago, and it was amazing. I have had two successful businesses the last 10 years, now I work with the homeless as well.

So I chose the wrong path, it’s so obvious when I look backward. But when I was standing there looking forward I saw no path! I hope that there is one person who reads this and feels the message of love I’m sending with this and hears me say “you can make a better choice”. Be a real grown up.

And now that I have written this I’m thinking just maybe I want my daughter to read this. Maybe she will make the right choice.

Thanks for posting your comments

You will always be connected to your mom through Love.

Special thanks to everyone for sharing here. It feels good.

TWLS (Truth, Wisdom, Love and Sincerity)
Rob

Thank you for this article, Michael. I’m grateful to the Publishing Society for the openness that invites and embraces honest sharing.

Rob wrote, “I am so grateful to all the Christian Scientists who showed love and kindness to me on that visit.” I am too, Rob!

The world needs THIS church, the one exemplified on this page. Thanks to all of you who make it what it is.
With love,
Pamela