Meditations on Lent - #16
I am blessed to work with many people whose life has been kidnapped by mental illness including addiction: addiction; addiction to alcohol, drugs, sex, power, food, status, or stuff. Many have seemingly earned the title of criminal, loser, predator, worthless, user, hopeless or some other label which makes it easy for many people to assume they are not worth saving or even knowing. Yet, many of these very same people reclaim themselves and go on to work miracles in our communities. Just this week I was at the Lee Jones Miracles Happen Treatment Center for addiction. This center was begun by two men who themselves had struggled with addiction and earned many negative titles. Yet they both became leaders in the treatment of other addicts and in training other leaders in the field of addiction treatment. Their influence continues to extend far beyond the borders of the state in which they were so active.
In the Gospel lesson for this day of lent, March 22, 2019, the Sisters of Saint Mary of Namur direct our attention to Matthew 21:33-43. In this passage Jesus tells another parable to remind the disciples that “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;” The 12-step recovery program was begun by two broken men, Dr. Bob and Bill W who became the cornerstone of a worldwide recovery program (I am fully aware some attributed the founding of the program to some others, but I have no intention of participating in that argument. Suffice it to say that Dr. Bob and Bill W were cornerstones of the 12-step recovery program.)
Daily I encounter individual and families who turn their life around; individuals and families who may have brought a lot of destruction to their own lives and the lives of all those they touched Many have given up on them and like the stones that the builders rejected tossed them out of their lives and sometimes out of their communities. I have known individuals who are barred from entire communities for life. The community is convinced that no good will ever come about because of these individuals. Yet, some of them will go on to be leaders in all areas of the life of our communities.
One never knows or at least I never know which broken stone will become the cornerstone which will rebuild lives. Just the other day I was talking to a colleague. We both shared that even after our 80 plus combined years of experience in working in the mental health and addiction fields, we are not able to predict who is going to finish treatment and who will get kidnapped again by addiction or other mental illness. We never know when a broken stone will become the cornerstone of not only the recovering community but of the entire community. This is true no matter what symptoms of brokenness individuals and families bring to my office or the treatment center when I volunteer. This has also been true for those in prison with whom I worked. It is equally true for those “healthy” colleagues for whom I work as a clinical supervisor. I never know which are the broken stones who will soon be the cornerstones for their facility or their community. Those who seem to “have it all together” are often those who are the most broken. Those who are the most broken are often the ones who becomes the cornerstones. I attended the Celebration of Women event at a local university this week. 5 women including the keynote speaker, Jessica Lynch, former POW, spoke about overcoming their brokenness. Mental illness, acute physical injuries, racism, the suicide of a spouse, sexism, or other traumatic emotional and physical injuries threaten to destroy these women. They all have gone on to become amazing cornerstones of the community.
I am sure that I and others will be again tempted to judge the broken as the least able to become cornerstones . Yet, Jesus and the example of many in our community remind us that we are all more than our brokenness. We must never discount potential miracles; the potential power and resilience of those that appear too broken to become cornerstones.
Once again, during the season Lent I am reminded that the crucifixion is not the end but the beginning.
Written March 22, 2019
Jimmy F Pickett, LPC, AADC
Coachpickett.org
I am blessed to work with many people whose life has been kidnapped by mental illness including addiction: addiction; addiction to alcohol, drugs, sex, power, food, status, or stuff. Many have seemingly earned the title of criminal, loser, predator, worthless, user, hopeless or some other label which makes it easy for many people to assume they are not worth saving or even knowing. Yet, many of these very same people reclaim themselves and go on to work miracles in our communities. Just this week I was at the Lee Jones Miracles Happen Treatment Center for addiction. This center was begun by two men who themselves had struggled with addiction and earned many negative titles. Yet they both became leaders in the treatment of other addicts and in training other leaders in the field of addiction treatment. Their influence continues to extend far beyond the borders of the state in which they were so active.
In the Gospel lesson for this day of lent, March 22, 2019, the Sisters of Saint Mary of Namur direct our attention to Matthew 21:33-43. In this passage Jesus tells another parable to remind the disciples that “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;” The 12-step recovery program was begun by two broken men, Dr. Bob and Bill W who became the cornerstone of a worldwide recovery program (I am fully aware some attributed the founding of the program to some others, but I have no intention of participating in that argument. Suffice it to say that Dr. Bob and Bill W were cornerstones of the 12-step recovery program.)
Daily I encounter individual and families who turn their life around; individuals and families who may have brought a lot of destruction to their own lives and the lives of all those they touched Many have given up on them and like the stones that the builders rejected tossed them out of their lives and sometimes out of their communities. I have known individuals who are barred from entire communities for life. The community is convinced that no good will ever come about because of these individuals. Yet, some of them will go on to be leaders in all areas of the life of our communities.
One never knows or at least I never know which broken stone will become the cornerstone which will rebuild lives. Just the other day I was talking to a colleague. We both shared that even after our 80 plus combined years of experience in working in the mental health and addiction fields, we are not able to predict who is going to finish treatment and who will get kidnapped again by addiction or other mental illness. We never know when a broken stone will become the cornerstone of not only the recovering community but of the entire community. This is true no matter what symptoms of brokenness individuals and families bring to my office or the treatment center when I volunteer. This has also been true for those in prison with whom I worked. It is equally true for those “healthy” colleagues for whom I work as a clinical supervisor. I never know which are the broken stones who will soon be the cornerstones for their facility or their community. Those who seem to “have it all together” are often those who are the most broken. Those who are the most broken are often the ones who becomes the cornerstones. I attended the Celebration of Women event at a local university this week. 5 women including the keynote speaker, Jessica Lynch, former POW, spoke about overcoming their brokenness. Mental illness, acute physical injuries, racism, the suicide of a spouse, sexism, or other traumatic emotional and physical injuries threaten to destroy these women. They all have gone on to become amazing cornerstones of the community.
I am sure that I and others will be again tempted to judge the broken as the least able to become cornerstones . Yet, Jesus and the example of many in our community remind us that we are all more than our brokenness. We must never discount potential miracles; the potential power and resilience of those that appear too broken to become cornerstones.
Once again, during the season Lent I am reminded that the crucifixion is not the end but the beginning.
Written March 22, 2019
Jimmy F Pickett, LPC, AADC
Coachpickett.org
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