My husband Shann and I watched a touching movie about addiction called, “The Year of the Dog.” It speaks to how addictions enter our lives through our wounds and traumas often as a tool to cope with pain. Dad and I often discussed addiction and its heartbreak. One of the beloved people in our lives struggled with addiction. Her story was one of much suffering. Her addiction made life bearable, until the addiction made life unbearable. This is so true of negative or addictive ways we attempt to use for self-comfort or to soothe ourselves. They seem like an easy choice until we are ensnared in a trap that leads to destruction.

Addictions trick us. Just like an alcoholic will swim the wrong way when he or she falls into the water, so addiction causes us to go the entirely wrong direction. I consider my go-to comfort addictions which are not necessarily as insidious or negatively destructive as some could be but nevertheless, they can be more innocuous and subtle in their destructive power and therefore also lead to despair. How fascinating it has been to watch research measure how these negative emotions harm our bodies. Anxiety addiction leads to greater levels of pancreatic cancer. Stress leads to chronic inflammation. Bitterness damages the heart. We know instantly that smoking damages our bodies. We see an image of a person smoking and may think that person is taking years off their life, but do we consider the damage with emotions such as worry, resentment, or loneliness?

The addiction to perfection, judging, or distraction, all these move me toward comfort rather than calling. We are now coming to see the measurable consequences of distraction. How does judging harm us? It leads us out of mercy. I consider how addictions turn us away from our challenges often because we cannot face them. The word face means to both accept and to oppose. We cannot face our challenges with wisdom, peace, mercy, or hope without the Comforter, the one walking alongside us in our weakness and suffering.

My dad loved to pray Psalm 23. He said it aloud often. I picture him reaching for this Psalm instead of the TV remote or another form of comfort. I want to have the discipline to reach for the Psalms rather than something that may bring distraction but no real comfort.

Psalm 23 

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.

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