Addiction is a LIVING Hell!

Listening to my daughter tell me of girl after girl leaving treatment and relapsing, sitting and listening to parents tell of their children relapsing, reading on Facebook about the kids I've known to be in treatment and relapsing. Sometimes it's hard to be hopeful. Sometimes it just catches up with you and you wonder....can we really do anything to help these kids? Today I'm sad. Deep down, on the inside, I'm still happy and grateful for all the wonderful things in my life, but in the surface, I feel sad and a bit lost. 

Last night while we were gone to get my daughter some excitement took place in our neighborhood. When we arrived home, we arrived to our front yard being torn up by an obvious large vehicle traveling at inappropriately high speed through the corner of our yard and in through the park behind our house. My first thought: another reckless teenager spinning out in the empty parking lot behind our house. My daughter: I'll bet it's someone we know, I think it was on purpose. Nah! We aren't living that nightmare anymore was my feeling. 

In about 10 minutes when a police car pulled up in front of my house, well, I figured I just hope it has nothing to do with my son. 

The police said some witnesses had called and they know it to be a young male who's in a pile of trouble, in a stolen vehicle tearing up the streets of Riverview. My first assumption was an old friend of my sons who is, for some reason, drawn like a magnet to my son, and to trouble. I already was told two days ago that he had run away from the group home and had a ton of charges and wanted by the police. Yup, I was right. The deeply disturbing part of this for me, why is this young (now 18 year old) performing this type of destructive behavior and stealing a vehicle and showing up in places he knows will get him deeper and deeper in serious trouble? Why? I was asked to press charges, icing on the cake of the law, to help put this young man away. I declined. I have seen how little the law does to help any of us, I don't need this disturbed teenager to have a reason to hate me when released from jail. However, I quickly picked up my phone to call my son. Beg him to please stay away from this boy tonight, he is in a lot of trouble and NOTHING good will come out of him being with him tonight, nothing. 

Why would anyone not heed that warning? What would make someone decide to hang out with him anyways? What could they possibly be thinking setting foot in that stolen vehicle knowing that this can only lead to trouble? I have a lot of unanswered questions. Most of the answers probably begin with drugs. 

All I will say is that I went to bed grateful last night, knowing that the police would not be ringing my doorbell to tell me my son had been killed in an accident, knowing that no one would be hurt by teenagers tearing up the streets in a stolen vehicle, knowing that for tonight my son and his girlfriend are alive. Knowing that this young disturbed boy will not be hurting anyone tonight. Tonight they will sleep on the hard, cold bench of the law in a jail cell in Shediac after being in an accident, where thankfully no one was hurt, and chased by police with guns and dogs until caught and arrested. Why? Why are these youth in such a mess? What is the driving force that leads them in the wrong direction? What can be done to save them? 

My affirmation today is: I am grateful that my family is safe, I am grateful that even when things look bad, I can see the good.