The Heart Of Recovery By Deborah and David Beddoeنموونە

Day One

Choosing Community

Scripture: 1 John 4:18

As we begin our devotional journey together, I [Deb] want to invite you into our story. Sharing our personal experiences with one another can foster healing and also give practical knowledge and help.

When I realized my husband, Dave, was addicted to his prescription migraine medication, I was stunned. I didn’t believe it was possible for a true Christian, and certainly not one on his way to becoming a pastor, to be addicted to drugs. There were no dealers. No back alleys. Not even a forged prescription. Just a slow, legal descent into addiction—a mirror of the crisis unfolding nationwide. 

I’ve since learned that it’s hard to detect when dependence on pain pills becomes an addiction. Especially with a prescription drug that doesn’t make a person “high” in a way you could see. But I knew when the bills hit. Or the account was drained. Or I got a collections call. In the first three years after he confessed his addiction, Dave relapsed into full-blown addiction seven times. 

We told only a handful of people about Dave’s problem. As he was still hoping to become a pastor, they advised us to keep it to ourselves. “You won’t ever have a ministry if people know,” they said. 

But in the end, telling others was exactly what we needed to do to heal. It was hard and humbling to let human hands hold us when we finally told our community. It required letting down walls. But in the end, commitment to living in truth and letting people into our mess saved us. Confession is more than admitting sins. It’s about allowing others into your struggle in order to heal.

Lord, I have so many fears about [name’s] addiction. Fears that others will judge us, fears that it won’t ever get better, fears that I won’t be able to help, even fears that people will dismiss our story. You are a God of love, not fear. Help us to step into that love today. Amen.