A blessing for a family member recovering from addiction
1 Peter 5:10
I often wish it all felt the way it looked, that I could actually be living the life everyone thinks they see. But it feels like a rigged show, one loose cable away from collapse.
--- Bill Clegg, Portrait of an Addict as a Young Man
Substance abuse and addiction is all too common in family businesses. Whether addiction has appeared in each successive generation, or is new to a family company, the consequences are far-reaching. The family business may or may not be the cause, but there is no doubt that being in business with family members shapes the trajectory of addiction. Stressful relationships, childhood experiences of trauma or conflict, and difficult financial or business circumstances — combined with an addictive nature — create a threat to both lives and livelihoods. My good friend Troy, a therapist, reminds me that addiction “isolates you from the ones who you love the most, and the ones who care about you in the smallest of ways.”
Recovery from addiction is an incredibly difficult path. This blessing is for both the one who is recovering from addiction and the family business members who are trying to help.
This powerful force grips you, grabs you, and won’t let go Offering temporary but false respite From the past, the stress, the guilt, or the shame A mirage of support for an unbearable weight. This addiction, even when behind you Is still always and forever nearby Bidding you come, beckoning you try To erase the pain, to return to the lie. The difficulty in shaking free of this substance Seems impossible for your family to comprehend We’re unaware of the shadow-places you’ve searched For a remedy, for a rescue; for a connection, for amends. But you are still loved by us Even amidst your, and our, disappointment. You are still loved by us Even if our business relationship is over. You are beloved by God and by us And our family can still choose the hard work of healing. As we recover together, we ask for God’s blessing: To help repair our family’s fractured foundation To help gain power over the roots of this addiction To help us ask for, and receive, your forgiveness for our role in your pain To help demonstrate, in the best way possible, our love as a family, and To help us collectively walk a new path together.
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you." (1 Peter 5:10)
Prior blessings: For a sibling partnership, for the end of a family business partnership, for grandparents in the family business, for those experiencing family estrangement, for your estate planning efforts, for a family business gathering, upon the passing of a family business member, for rest, for the next generation’s return, for the senior generation letting go, and for the new year.