For several years as I made my weekly rounds at a special-care hospital, every time I visited, I noticed a woman wheeling a young man around the hospital. When the weather was suitable, she pushed him around the grounds and sat for a while on one of the benches; quietly enjoying their surroundings or reading. When the weather kept them indoors, she used one of the open spaces around the hospital.
The young man was her son. His use of crack cocaine had destroyed his brain. He gazed at the world with a vacant, unresponsive stare. From time to time I still think of her and wonder if I would be capable of such love were it needed.
In the years that have passed since then, the problems with drug abuse and addiction have grown in ways we could never have imagined. We face an unprecedented and growing crisis.
None of us is immune. I selected the title Our drug problem because the people affected are found in our communities, our neighbourhoods, our schools, our churches, among our family and friends. Sometimes we see that person when we look in the mirror.
There are those among us who are finding the resolve within themselves to help to deal with those challenges. In our feature story, you will meet some of them and learn how they are responding. Perhapsone of their stories will inspire you to find a similar resolve within yourself.
In all of this, let’s not overlook the many people who must respond because that responsibility comes with their jobs or roles in society.
Can we also find ways to support and encourage front-line responders, police officers, hospital staff, therapists and the like who never know what the next moment will bring? Let’s remember the politicians and administrators who are trying to understand the scope of what we are facing and to figure out how best to provide the resources we need. And let’s not forget the family and loved ones of these people who worry about their safety every day.
It’s a big challenge and our love needs to grow to be just as large.
Glimpses
In this issue, we launch a new Bible study series about prayer (p.31). It’s part of our church’s four-year emphasis on Living our Faith, as together we pray, read, worship and love.
Practising Our Faith, (p. 9) prompts a practice of thankful prayer for our trials and tribulations. It explores a way of prayer that many of us may not have considered.
No matter how often I’ve done it, I still find it very difficult to visit someone who is grieving or dying or dealing with a long-term debilitating experience. Making those difficult visits(p. 15) offers some helpful insight.
Kenn Ward, Editor
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