"We have seen wonderful and strange and incredible and unthinkable things today!" ( Luke 5:26 Amp)
I sat nervously around the
table as I looked at the other parents. Some were in couples, but there were
others who were alone as I was. As each parent started to tell their story I was
thinking about how it would soon be my turn to speak, "What exactly would I say?
" I found myself sitting at the table of a , "Tough Love" meeting. I was here
following the advice of a friend, who thought as a single parent of three
teenage boys, maybe the support of a group, might help me to be tough in the
places I lacked being strict.
I had recently been praying about an issue over one of
my sons, who had previously been through an ordeal with drugs. I thought this
demon was well behind us when all of a sudden I started getting hints of the
problem returning. But I needed some harder evidence to get my son to confront
his own sin.
My suspicion began to arise as he started receiving
more phone calls than normal. Each time I would confront my son or the caller on
the other end they would just say they were the friend of a friend. So I went to
God in prayer with this issue and asked that He would somehow lead me to some
cold hard evidence to confront my son with and prompt him to admit to getting
help.
Confronting this issue alone was not easy. One day a
friend of mine suggested that maybe I should try the counsel of a support group.
I was uncomfortable with the idea for a while. Then one day while pondering the
idea again, I decided it would not hurt to see what it was all about.
Hence....here I was.
My turn had now come to speak... ignoring the
butterflies in my stomach I simply said what was on my mind. I needed proof and
support in confronting my son. I don't even remember the responses I received at
the time, only that each parent there was quite empathetic. But the meeting was
not yet over. In fact, it was just about to begin, as soon as we would hear the
next two parents finish their stories. I tried to get my mind off of me and
listen attentively as the next two ladies would tell their tales. One was an
update of what had happened since the week before, but the woman two seats down
from mine was also new to the group, and as she opened her mouth to speak, I was
about to receive some INCREDIBLE news.
This woman was distraught and her story was very much
like mine. Her son too was into drugs and she had caught him red-handed on the
phone, speaking to someone that could lead him to a source. She was out to get
this perpetrator on the other end of the phone who's name was........ I looked
over at her in amazement and interrupted her as I said to her.. "That is my
son!" The whole group gasped. It looked as though I now had my proof. How could
this coincidence have come about?
I don't recall much of the rest of that meeting ,other
than afterwards exchanging numbers and information with that mother.
With the help of the Lord , the rest of my story went
well. The next day I laid the evidence out to my son and he relented to me. That
day we went for drug rehab.
Today he is a responsible father of two children, has
a stable job and a changed life. All due to the answer to a prayer, and my
willingness to step out for some much needed support.
To this day I still stand in awe as I remember the
hush at that table as everyone stared in amazement at what had happened, and our
expressions saying.... "That's Incredible."
Anettee Budzban lives in Wildwood,IL. She has a
writing ministry called, "Writings From The Heart " and sends messages to
friends and others.She is the author of the book, "Life Changing Inspirations"
and has been published on e-zines and in magazines which include, Angels On
Earth. She writes a devotional column in her County's Daily Herald. Her e-mail
is
ahrtwrites2u@aol.com (Received on Friday,
August 2002)
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