Dan and Deb

Drugs really do suck. They consume a person’s mind and body until they eventually run you into the very pit of hell. It’s been an interesting week. I received a phone call on Monday night from a friend. They had a homeless woman in their house and she told them that she wanted to kick heroin. My friend called me. My wife called some treatment places. I called my friend. They decided to house her at their home until a bed opened up at the local detox and rehab center. We went over and prayed with the woman and encouraged her. The men in the house had recruited some women they knew to help take care of the person. It was a rough go for them. They stayed up most the night with her. Her body was going through the wicked withdrawals from heroin. Tuesday: she caved. She threatened to give up and leave if they didn’t allow her to take some methadone. What choice did they really have? They walked her down the street where she could get her synthetic fix and she was fine, for a little while. The detox called. They had a bed. Praise the Lord. The boys did the deed and took her to rehab and she willingly checked in. Wednesday: she caved. She’s gone. Debbie and I went to visit her. They couldn’t deny or confirm that she was there. You know, confidentiality. I say, you don’t understand, we brought her here yesterday. “I can’t confirm or deny that she is here.” Yadda, Yadda, Yadda. She wasn’t there.

My wife and I were shocked when our friend called and confirmed that for us. She was doing so well. We’d all been praying for her. We gave her a support system. How could this have happened? This why the recovery ministry is so hard. People still have the choice to continue on a path of righteousness or a path of destruction. WE STILL HAVE THE CHOICE TO SIN.

I’m writing simply to vent and to give a shout out to the “RECON” team. They didn’t have a clue what to do, but they did what the bible says. They provided food, clothing, comfort, love, and they prayed. That’s all we can do. They also wore the clothes of righteousness and that girl saw Jesus Christ for the two days she spent with them. She saw His Grace, His Mercy, His Unconditional Love for her. The seed that was planted in her youth, had some water poured on it. The bible tells us that when we plant and water, the Holy Spirit will do the growing. I believe that she had some growth in her life. I believe that an impact was made. I believe that one day, she will make the decision to stop sinning through drug abuse, and the Lord will deliver her from this addiction.

If you are reading this, you can help. You can pray. Pray for Debbie and I, pray for “RECON”, pray for the girl (God knows who she is even if you do not), pray that we can reach just one person today with the Gospel message. With the message of hope and freedom. Pray for everybody that devotes so much time and energy to so many different recovery ministries. It’s a battle. Not against flesh and blood, that would be easy. We are in a battle that has already been won. However, the enemy wants to try to squash our hope and wants to take our eyes off of our Savior. Pray for us. Drugs really do suck.