More than "The Hard Things"

>"You know, it doesn't make sense. It's not fun. At a certain point, it's not even giving me that relief anymore. It's just this compulsion that I can't break. In that sense, I'll always be a drug addict," Sheff said.

"I think I can be someone who no longer uses drugs," he added.<

Nic Scheff, author of TWEAK, said that for an article in CNN today. He's the son of David Scheff who wrote the poignant book BEAUTIFUL BOY about his son Nic's downfall into addiction to drugs and in particular- meth. It's a book that breaks your heart.

Too often people "outside" the vicious cycle of addiction are quick to assume addicts are somehow just weak or unwilling to do "The Hard Things:" to suck it up, "just say no," build better disciplines... but it's more than that... after reading Nic's story in Beautiful Boy, I've recommended the book to more family members of addicts then I can recall. It's a story that let's us see ourselves within the cycle and reminds us of just how quickly anyone of us can find ourselves on the front lines in the battle for our own sanity as addiction eats away at those we love... at us.

I've prayed for this young man I've never met, before... praying for he and his family today. I've helped families through times of relapse with the familiar and comforting reminders: "failure is part of success," "It's not about falling down- it's about getting back up," and I believe them... God is powerful and He created us to thrive, He is "The God of second chances." That said, I know it's easy to fall into a place of acceptance. That this is just who we are- if it kill's us, it kills us. Nic Scheff's words are powerful:

"You know, it doesn't make sense. It's not fun. At a certain point, it's not even giving me that relief anymore." Which one of us hasn't felt that way in some area of our lives before? But he closes with incredible hope: "I think I can be someone who no longer uses drugs," he added."

"I think I can..."

Is there an area of your life that needs changing today? Maybe it's an attitude, a discipline, an unmet goal, a habit that needs breaking, an addiction... Life's not about falling down- it's about getting up. Ask Nic. He's giving his sobriety another shot- he's dreaming of a life without drugs in control... a new hope, a new life. I'm praying for his success and for ours as well.

God created us to be so much more than "consumers." He created us to thrive. Together, in Him, we can. Failure is part of success. If you're living through personal or even a very public failure today- success is out ahead -stay faithful, seek help, trust God... life's about more than the hard things... it's about learning how to trust God, trust each other... and continue together. We can thrive.