Losing a Child to Addiction

“Drugs just bring on so much trauma in your family, well before you lose that loved one. It’s just ugly and it scars you,” says Shauna, whose son began experimenting with drugs at just 13 years old. In the years since his death, she and her family have found peace with the help of professional counselors and focus on faith.

By the time Shauna’s son was 15, his addiction was full-blown. Over the course of his short life, he was sent to jail more than a dozen times.

“I remember the first time visiting him, walking down that long hallway, and I was devastated,” describes Shauna. “I remember sobbing the whole way home. I just could not console myself.”

After every release from jail, he would try to resume his life without drugs and alcohol. However, he couldn’t get past the belief that he was beyond help and hope. Fearing for her son’s life, Shauna became overwhelmed with sorrow and fear. She was desperate for help.

She got on her knees and plead with God for a glimmer of happiness. In the hours that followed, her eyes were opened to the beauty all around her—evidence of the love God and Jesus Christ have for each of us. That perspective still brings her joy on bad days.

“The Savior is so present and so ready to lift our burdens and comfort us,” she says.

Can you see God’s love where you are?

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