Inside-out Peace

Inside-out Peace

“Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has made you well. Go in peace.” Luke 8:48

“My life is in pieces. I don’t even know where to start,” Angie said.

“Let’s start with what substances you’ve taken recently,” I said.

She responded with a list of drugs that would put most people to sleep for a week. But Angie’s addiction was so out of control that the massive quantities barely affected her.

“I want to get my life back on track, but I don’t know how. Can you help me?”

“Are you ready and willing to change your lifestyle?”

“Yes!” she said emphatically. “That’s why I’m here. I’ve had three overdoses, and yet I keep craving more. But if I don’t stop, I know it will kill me.”

“Okay. We need to run some tests. Then we’ll start the detox process.”

I admitted her to the medical ward for treatment and then to the psych ward for rehab. As she was waiting to be transferred, I seized the opportunity to talk with her.

“When you first came in, you said that you felt as if your spirit had died. What did you mean?”

That simple question opened the floodgates, and Angie poured out her story. A victim of abuse, she had used drugs to numb the pain and help her forget. But it only made her susceptible to more abuse. It was a vicious cycle, and she didn’t know how to escape it. As she talked, her story felt more like a confession, and I felt more like her priest than her doctor. I told her that Jesus forgave her and that he could heal her spiritually as well as physically.

In rehab, Angie slowly healed the open wounds in her soul, and gradually she became strong enough to go home. In retrospect, I realized that her confession to me was something she desperately needed. She had to unload all the shame of her former life before she could take positive steps toward a new life.

She was discharged into the care of a halfway house but still came in regularly to monitor her Hepatitis C—a battle scar that was eventually resolved with new treatment. During this time, God began to reveal himself to her, and she finally found peace as he healed her soul.

TODAY’S RX

Don’t wait for physical healing to find peace with God. Seek him first, and healing will follow.

God, heal the scars on my heart, and make me new. Be a balm to the painful memories that still lie in wait within me. I desire to surrender everything to you.