Falling Lessons

You have to fall down to experience being picked back up.

Most people I know have been affected by addiction in one way or another. A few are still actively drinking or using. A larger number are in recovery. Almost everybody else has a story about a struggling relative, friend, neighbor, or coworker.

The pathway to recovery, as well as the key to coping with loved ones in the grip of addiction, begins with learning one crucial lesson. We are powerless.

Photo by Alexas_Fotos on Unsplash

This is a lesson that nobody really likes learning. That’s because you can only learn about your own powerlessness by experiencing it firsthand. Nobody can do your homework for you.

Addicts learn this lesson through misery. They want to stop. They’ve lost careers, relationships, and health. Their souls are rarely at peace. And yet they are driven by a craving they can neither stem nor control.

The lesson comes by way of a broken and desperate heart for family and friends of the actively addicted. They’ve tried love and persuasion and coercion. And yet none of this…