Summertime and the Living is...Well, Not So Easy
Welcome to our LTTL Summer Newsletter. Yes, there are things about summer that are easier, such as not shivering in the freezing cold winds of winter, but nothing in life seems particularly easy these days. However, when we understand our true identity in Christ and that our future is secure when we belong to Him, it gives the tough things of this life a different impact. As CS Lewis said, this is the "shadowlands;" in other words, this is the training grounds for real life, which is after this life. So things may seem particularly messy right now, but we have hope, and that hope is a person: Jesus.
One of the privileges that I have is leading our LTTL support groups for women who have loved ones in addiction. We want our loved ones to get well and stop their destructive behaviors, but we are not able to make that happen. We can only get well ourselves. One of the key aspects of our healing has to do with connection and community. Having others share openly and honestly their struggles frees us to be transparent, even when we don't get everything right. Our times together as a group are not just instructional—in fact, sometimes we don't even get to talk about things from the Set Free book that we use for curriculum. Many times what is needed is to just be heard, comforted, and encouraged.
Our most recent Monday night meeting was one such time. We have two members who are going through major medical issues; I was able to share a financial need that one member who is going through a very difficult disease had so that the others could pray for God's provision. Within minutes of the group ending that night, the need was met by group members. It was so amazing to witness and be a part of such a caring community. Another is going through potentially life-threatening medical issues—the group is surrounding her with prayer and support. Then there are relationship issues that we are able to share and bring to Jesus. It is truly healing to be a part of this type of connection.
When I finished writing my last book Set Free, I insisted that I never wanted to write another book because it is too much work. There is a saying that if you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans. Well, He must be laughing for sure, because the new book is finished and ready to go to the formatting company. Through much prompting of the Holy Spirit and some highly respected people encouraging me to tackle a tough, not talked about subject relating to addiction, I started working on this new project last December. The response has been overwhelmingly positive from the beta readers, for which I am so grateful.
When someone gets clean and sober, we want to believe that all relationship dynamics are also healed. Unfortunately, that is not the case at times. The new book is titled He's Clean and Sober...So Where's My Happily Ever After: A Guide to Seeing, Naming, and Healing from Post-Addiction Abuse. More to come about the book when it is released, but I wanted to share the proposed cover (which will have some changes).
Please pray that God will use this book to help many women trapped in destructive relationships.
Love Them To Life is a non-profit ministry. We are dependent on the gifts of our generous donors and are so very grateful for each of you who have felt called to meet the needs of the ministry. All donations are solely for the ministry expenses. If God lays it on your heart to help with these needs, the following is the link to do so:
https://lovethemtolife.com/donate
Thank you for your support and prayers.