A Friend In Recovery
Dennis is a friend who has been on his recovery journey for a couple of years. Before recovery, he was in a pit of hell with addictions and felt isolated and alone. Since recovery, he's been growing and making significant changes in his life. He's noticed a difference in himself and how he thinks and acts. It's been quite a journey, and he believes God has guided him back home.
A Parable of Paths
11 And he said, A certain man had two sons: 12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. 14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. 15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. 17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, 19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. 20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. 21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. 22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: 23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
Luke 15 // New Testament KJV
I look at Dennis' story and think, "The prodigal son has returned!" And rightly so with some of the finer details. Dennis is an excellent example of this parable. He demonstrates a precious principle found in our relationship with God: The instant we turn to Him (with sincerity), He receives us. Dennis experienced this firsthand and God's love has been a source of power and motivation to keep him moving on the path.
Old Paths
Recently, Dennis went through a serious challenge. While under emotional stress he made some poor decisions (self-proclaimed) that caused him to spiral into shame. For a moment, he gave up and went back to old patterns from his addiction. It's caused some of that same pain that he started in recovery to address. He briefly disconnected from his support. He mentioned that it felt like he betrayed himself and his own recovery like everything that he worked on was undone.
A Perfect Path?
When we're walking the path of recovery, there is a false concept that we have to confront: Perfectionism. The story of the prodigal son is an interesting one in this regard. We only see a glimpse of the prodigal's life. Jesus' parable never mentions the remainder of his life. Did the prodigal ever crave his former ways? Did he ever start back down the path again before catching himself at the gate? Did he leave again? If he left, did he return? It almost feels blasphemous to think the prodigal could ever depart from the truth after returning to it, but this is our reality.
We leave our loving father for the world on grand and minuscule levels. So what happens when we leave and come home again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, ? (have you ever seen 1px font!? First time for me, too.)
What do you think? I believe we have loving deity reaching for us at all times, even when we choose to walk away. And while I'm not here to justify making poor decisions that hurt people, I am here to say the faster we can believe in the God who forgives 70 x 7, the faster we can return home and begin again.
Ultimately, the prodigal son is not about being perfect but about knowing we have a home we can always return to with a loving parent ready to receive us.
My friend has returned home and he is starting over!
Starting Over
This song is a pretty solid example of what I'm talking about. It's that sense of shame that you feel because this time, "you knew better." Macklemore describes his path with substance abuse but it certainly relates to the relationship of departing from the truth once we've found it.
If you're working through your own addictions and trauma and need some help along the way, you should really consider joining a support group or therapy group. Ours are pretty kickass and we'd love to have you there (again and again and again... you get the idea).
