My daughter came home one day for lunch and our home had been broken into. The person came through the porch window that had a makeshift lock. The person also ripped off the little hook lock off the back door in order to gain entry by yanking on it.

Only the 60″ TV was taken. Now this wasn’t any TV, this one had great sentimental value. Our son had bought the TV for us a Christmas gift a year and a half ago. We were saddened to see it missing.

Now it was very unfortunate that my wife and I knew who the thief was. It was my oldest daughter. She needed drug money.

Originally my wife and I were going to be very tight lipped about this. If my wife and I are not careful we can succumb to great shame, a feeling of embarrassment, and feelings as failures as parents.

My other daughters feel keenly this way. They get quite emotional when they think of their friends, or when they are approached by others they know and are asked about this situation.

The only reason I’m sharing is because at a Prayer Meeting one of the ladies had spoken a couple of times of a “Platform.” My interpretation from that night was that I was to use this topic and others as a platform to speak from.

This is one area which of course I wish that I did not have any experience in. But, experience in it, I do have.

As I listen to a song entitled In Christ Alone, the words “in the power of Christ I stand” resonates strongly within me. My wife and I both feel strongly about this. We are coping by standing strongly on our faith in the power of Christ.

Of course my wife and I can go through the questioning, the self doubt. Were there mistakes that we had made as parents, of course. Could we have been one of the triggers for my daughters slippery road into drug addiction, yes.

On the other hand, the questions arise as well, did we do the best that we could at time? Did we try to nurture her and the other kids, and try and steer them from this lifestyle? Yes, yes, a thousand times yes.

One of the things I have learned from the last eight months of watching my daughter deteriorate before my eyes was just how pervasive the opiate situation is in Massachusetts. I was very surprised to learn this.

In the past I always thought and felt of it as a back alley, inner city type of thing. But, this is so not true. I know there is a stigma with this sort of thing, thus one of the reasons for wanting to keep quiet in the beginning.

I now have a thinking that I might be able to help some with my writings and occasional preaching. That there is hope. Hope can spring eternal with faith in Christ. There is nothing impossible with Him.

It’s easy to think on the worst, and the ugly, of this situation. But, I’m always comforted by Philippians 4:4-9 (this is in the Message translation):

^4-5 Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!

^6-7 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

^8-9 Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

It is my hope that this platform I stand on and write from is helpful to others. At least for those parents and loved ones struggling with addiction’s with family members and close friends. Other’s who have never walked this path will probably never understand the pain that this path imbibes. Nor would I ever wish this upon them.