Will
your Child Survive Graduation Day?
Is there any
family in the area or country that has not been affected by addictions or
recreational drug use? I know my own has and because of this I seek education
at The Substance Abuse Task Force meetings. There you will find people from
every sector of the community, medical, educational, DCF, NOPE (The Narcotics Overdose Prevention & Education) and people of the Faith
community, but the ones that have gripped my heart are the parents who have
lost children.
One man introduces himself as the father of a dead child; in this
case it was not an addiction problem but kids celebrating their graduation last
year. How heartbreaking, and yet how many of us can say, "There but
by the grace of God go I?"
When I met the grieving father after the meeting the only comfort
I could give was to say I would pray for him, give him a hug and these words:
"I know when your son
woke up the morning before he didn't think or plan, 'Tonight I will break my
father's heart.'"
Although that was what happened, it was a horrible accident, of
kids using one drug, one time too many. Young people are not thinking when they
use recreational drugs; they are just doing it to fit in with their friends. In
some small way, please get the word out, "One time may be one time too
many."
This father still has unanswered
questions. He doesn’t know if his son was a willing participant or not at this
time.
Parents please
talk to your children especially with Graduation Day approaching; I liken this
conversation to being a watchman on the wall as portrayed here:
“Upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen all the
day, and all the night, they shall never hold their peace. You that are mindful
of the Lord, hold not your peace.” (Isaiah 62:6 Douay-Rheims
Bible)
Many of us try to prepare ourselves for the possibility of loss in
our families, with recreational pills so prevalent in the younger generation.
The statistics show that the national average is 50 people die a day in our
country; we need to acknowledge we have a problem here, people, and educate our
families. Common things in your home such as Pam, Nyquil and aerosol whipping
cream can also be a source of misuse. I’ve learned about Pharma or Skittles
parties where kids take medicines from their parent’s and grandparent’s
medicine cabinets and throw them all in a bowl. The bowl is then passed around
and the kids take some, not knowing what exactly they are taking. The potential
for danger in the wrong drugs interacting is incredible!
Parents, friends and youth workers in the community be aware and take the time to talk to the youth that you love..
Their heart cried out to the Lord,
“O wall of the daughter of Zion,
Let tears run down like a river day and night;
Give yourself no relief;
Give your eyes no rest.
“O wall of the daughter of Zion,
Let tears run down like a river day and night;
Give yourself no relief;
Give your eyes no rest.
“Arise, cry out in
the night,
At the beginning of the watches;
Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord.
Lift your hands toward Him
For the life of your young children…(NKJV) Lamentations 2:18-19
At the beginning of the watches;
Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord.
Lift your hands toward Him
For the life of your young children…(NKJV) Lamentations 2:18-19
Join me in praying that the upcoming Graduation Days will
be full of family joy instead of the trauma of substance abuse.
Sometimes
seeing a real face to go along with the story helps; this was someone's son, Morgan Andrew Denney: http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/local/southeast-volusia/2011/06/02/new-smyrna-teen-taken-off-ventilator-dies-police-look-into-drug-connection.html
Donna
Collins Tinsley, wife, mother and grandmother, lives in Port Orange, Florida
and has been included in several magazines and book compilations. Find her at
Facebook, http://thornrose7.blogspot.com/
or join Somebody’s Mother Online Prayer Support Group at http://www.facebook.com/groups/119408188089314?id=244911885538943
or email Thornrose7@aol.com
