There is no shortcutting this journey of healing. It takes deliberate choice and effort to cultivate inner peace and skills to put our love into helpful action and effective communication.
Yes, the pain and emptiness is still here. I have accepted that it will always be with me. THIS is my new life. Accepting this was a major step in healing.
This kind of guilt is not pretty or, most of the time, warranted, but it is real. Moms who love their children deeply need strong family or friends to get through the terrible times.
Who carries shame in the world of addiction? Is it the sick one or families, or both? What does shame feel like? And how can you find the gift of NO SHAME?
My first response was denial. One would think I knew better considering the family I came from, but as Melody Beattie says, “Denial is the shock absorber for the soul.”
We are called to love our children unconditionally, but the question became what does love look like in this situation, in dealing with someone in the throes of addiction?