The "Collateral" Damage

After my last post - "The war on drugs - a letter from the trenches" I received a comment from "anonymous".  I found it in my email, but when I looked on the blog it was no longer there.  I assume writer had some reason for deleting it, so I won't  reprint it here. 

But he/she made a very good point that needs to be heard.  This is in my words, not theirs:

The actions of the addict inflicts untold collateral damage on the lives of their loved ones. And these loved ones need just as much support, understanding and prayer, for they too are very much "in recovery".

It's true.  I've seen it in others, and I am thankful that when writing the personal story above I was able to say that it only "threatened" to tear my family apart.  The commentor said that he/she struggles personally with PTSD, grief, anxiety, depression on a daily basis.  She/he talks about the struggle to "construct a new norm"; the effort to "clean up the wreckage, piece by tiny piece"; trying to "rebuild a life that has been burned to the ground" by forces they had no control over.

 And then they ask, "So pray for the addicts - yes. But pray also for the invisible who have been damaged by it in ways that are not quite so easily put into words".

To whoever wrote me that note, I say "Thanks".  And tonight, though I don't (can't) know your pain, I join you in that prayer.

PS - If you wrote the note and want to talk, you probably know my number.  If not, you can reach me at thurland@gmail.com