A New Dawn

Zombie apocalypse. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Anakin's transformation into Darth Vader.

These were the visuals that flashed through my mind as our family reeled from the fallout of drug addiction. Dark hopeless storylines; metaphors for life reflecting the sadness of watching our son turn into someone nearly unrecognizable to us. Of watching him drift away, beyond our rescue. Of losing someone so precious to us.

But God was near.

After a period of great darkness a new dawn began to rise within our family. Shimmering in the colors of this sunrise were glimmers of hope and redemption, of reconciliation. The transformation of recovery began. As we watched our beautiful son emerge from his chrysalis of destruction, the images and stories that surfaced in my mind began to morph also. Tinged with a sense of expectation, of future possibilities—we began to dream again.

Stories like the classic scene in The Lord of the Rings when King Theoden with Gandalf's help is released from the evil grip of Saruman's influence. His eyes, reflecting the state of his mind, begin to clear; the color and quality of his face and hair return. No longer hunched in defeat and surrender, he stands tall again, saying "Dark have been my dreams of late, but I feel as one new-awakened.”

Our son and family have experienced this new awakening—seeing, tasting, believing that indeed life is good. Oh how sweet it is to have our son back. This gift beyond measure, lost to us and now found. Twice given—twice blessed.

J.R.R. Tolkien writes "The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater."

I believe this to be true. Our family has traveled a hard road—and in the journey our love, though mingled with grief, has grown greater. 💕

Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift! 2 Cor. ‭9:15‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Photo credit: Marek Piwnicki, Unsplash