Sarahjoy Le Donner A Dieu: Addict Kid Learns 'Steps' Are Spiritual

My kid is behaving spiritually. Who would'da thought!

When your kid is mired in the horribleness of meth addiction, hope is seemingly impossible. Healing from drug addiction is bigger than anything. Healing from addiction is extraordinarily difficult. You have no control over it. Most parents would sacrifice themselves to secure recovery from addiction for their child.

So . . fast forward and now my kid has reached a point in her sobriety, in her recovery from drugs which is almost three years, where she's using spiritual life concepts. Check this out: I am told by her that she is not only asking her Higher Power for guidance and assistance; but, she is praying for the person with whom she is experiencing significant conflict. A particular situation, I understand, was becoming especially difficult for her, so much that she sought out and discussed it with her NA sponsor. She was advised to pray for this person. Not only pray, but specifically pray that he receive all the blessings in life that he desires. You could have picked my jaw up off the floor, I was so surprised. SPIRITUAL STUFF! PRAYER STUFF! THE SPIRITUAL ASPECT IS COMPLETELY UNEXPECTED BUT WELCOME AND HUGE! I have read til I am blue in the face about AA and NA. Both of these programs teach that you should come to a point where you realize and accept you have lost control over your life and you need help, that any form of self-healing hasn't worked. Indeed it isn't even possible because will power will fail. The addict is then taught to really seek to get better you need to turn your life over to a Higher Power. On paper this is a significant concept. Watching it firsthand at a NA meeting is astounding. Narcotics Anonymous meetings are anonymous, but in general let me share a few observations. Drug addicts differ from alcoholics in that by the time an addict gets to a point where he's seeking help, he's likely lost everything. He's destroyed all relationships, he's sold everything, he's stealing, he may be on probation awaiting drug-related criminal sentencing. Alcoholics often seek help before they succumb to this point in their addiction. Drugs like meth will cause a mother to lock herself in a bathroom for hours or even days while she gets high, leaving her children alone in the house, scratching and pounding against a closed door. Soon this mother and children will be homeless, soon there is no more door to scratch and pound on.

Resolving to quit this lifestyle and 'try to be a good mother' is beyond an addict's control. When one seeks out recovery and attends his first NA meeting, his or her life is broken. To me, the significance of this cycle distinguishes NA. Addicts learn how to resolve conflict and seek to improve their lives through the 12 Step process. Practicing the 12 Step principles is similar to attending church. My recovering addict kid is practicing her religion. Good for her. Thank you, God (Higher Power).

(For more information on the 12 step program and how the spiritual nature of it assures success for the addict, Click here .)