Beth borrowed my GPS a few days ago. She had to take a sick friend to the hospital a few hundred miles up north. He needed a life saving operation and no one in his family would help him. He did not even have money for gas to give her for driving. She used her own money earned from cutting grass to help him out.
I imagined that this man has his own sad story of addiction or alcoholism that left him all alone in his dire illness. I told Beth, he must have done some really bad shit to have his entire family bail out on him in a life or death situation.
She said that his parents are dead. He is in his sixties. He worked as an electrician for many years and helped his family. Now, he is sick with cancer in his liver and kidneys and she not his family found him some kind of charity help.
Even though I have my trepidations about this relationship, I think that it is a good thing that she is feeling some compassion for another human being. This is a mere aquaintance of hers but she used her brain and energy to find him help. She brought herself out of her own misery to actually give this man a chance to live a little longer.
I was not enthusiastic about lending my GPS. I told her that I wanted it back the next day and that if I did not get it back I would deduct the price for replacing it first from the work she already did for me and second from her government checks. Then I worried....... not about the GPS really but about the fact that I gave her an item that was worth a couple hundred dollars that could surely be traded for drugs. There was a time not long ago that the GPS would not have lasted more than 5 minutes in her hands.
She did not defend herself. She brought it back the next day.
How can I be so proud of her and so suspicious at the same time? I note some progress and I even enjoy it but I know that she has a long long way to go. I pray that God takes care of her and forgives us both for the injustices and heartaches we have inflected on each other without the intention to harm.
Tragic In So Many Ways
4 years ago
It sounds like despite Beth's own personal issues, she has a kind and loving heart...what a blessing that is. I've noticed that many of our addict kids seem to be this way. Because they feel things on a deeper level? Perhaps...what a blessing in such a dark world, never the less. Try not to be too hard on yourself about being suspicous of her intentions...we're like that with addict children. I still do it with my son and he's over 8 months clean. This is the world that they have created and it takes a long, long time and a lot of change and work before the trust starts to develope once again. My son once told me that you earn trust drop by drop but when you lose it, you lose it by bucket fulls!
ReplyDeleteAnna, don't be hard on yourself. It will take a very long time for complete trust to be there again; and my experience is that our addict children actually understand it. As long as they are clean and sober, they understand. When they slip is when they get beligerent and manipulative when you demonstrate a lack of trust. So I'm very glad she didn't argue or defend herself. She simply understood.
ReplyDeleteAnd it certainly seems that she has a good heart and a kind soul. What a nice thing she did to help this man. I hope all is well and the surgery is a success for him.