18
The War Cry | MARCH 2015
We talked about his feelings
of emptiness. He told me he
had tried many times to
change his ways without
success. He had at-
tended AA (Alcoholics
Anonymous) and NA
(Narcotics Anony-
mous) meetings,
met with various
counselors and
tried medication;
nothing helped.
Then the young
man insightfully
observed, "I know
what's lacking:
spirituality."
This man's story may
be an extreme example,
but often we follow a sim-
ilar path to his. Though
many of us do not abuse
our bodies and minds
with drugs or alcohol,
we take other perilous
detours. Challenges can
overwhelm our understanding. We try
to solve our problems alone. When
none of our efforts succeed and
we are in a dither of frustration,
then we call upon God to help
us. Sometimes, we are like
this young man, who tried
everything to fill the hole in
his life but still felt empty.
Finally, he recognized
that he needed something
deeper, more meaningful.
Many of those who en-
countered Christ felt this
way. Consider the biblical
story of the woman affl icted
with a blood disease. What
despair she must have endured
during the many years she
shouldered this affl iction. Per-
haps she sought medical help to
no avail, spending much of her
money along the way. Her com-
munity would have rejected and
avoided her, considering her ill-
ness a consequence of her own
sin and weakness. How iso-
I
recently counseled a young man in the hospital who had lost all hope.
Several weeks earlier, this troubled fellow had been shot multiple times
during an altercation with the police.
I could feel his deep despair as I
listened to him pour out his life's pain and hardship. He had grown up with
an alcoholic mother whose multiple partners abused him; fighting and turmoil
plagued his home. These memories continued to haunt him, and substance
abuse was his only escape. He was unable to hold a job, and his marriage
deteriorated. Believing there was no way out, he decided to end his life. An
earlier suicide attempt had failed, so this time he forced the police to shoot him.
R E LI N Q U I S H M E N T
by
LOIS CARLSON