Categories: uncategorized
Date: 30 November 2006 20:25:13
Having had a moment of questioning the very profession I signed up to yesterday, today I had two really good things happen today. Sorry, this might be quite a long entry!
First off... I saw a client today that I have been working with for a couple of years. She is now a year abstinent from illicit drugs, and 7 months abstinent from all drugs, illicit and prescribed. When I started working with her she was on a methadone prescription and wanted to go to rehab, but for various reasons it didn't happen. Anyway, she worked through loads of her issues, reduced herself off her methadone, started doing some voluntary work and really got her life together. It was such a joy to see her today and to be able to sit and have a conversation with her when she is totally clear-headed and revelling in a life which 2 years ago just wouldn't have been possible for her. She is just 3 weeks younger than me so we shared the trauma of both turning 30 about this time last year and it is a real pleasure to be able to see her on an equal footing, rather than as a professional and a client. In the New Year I will discharge her, and she is hopefully going to go on to work in the area of addictions. I am just so proud of her and what she has achieved.
I also saw another client today who is in a very different situation. She is on a treatment programme, but struggling and still uses heroin on top. She suffers with an eating disorder and clinical depression and her life is just full of chaos. Last week when I saw her she was so low, and just before she left I gave her a big cuddle as I felt she really needed it. When she came in today she told my student that that cuddle made such a difference to her, and that she couldn't believe that someone would want to touch her, let alone give her a hug. To be honest it hadn't even crossed my mind at the time, but I knew she needed that little bit of positive physical contact.
These were two totally different clients, and yet the joy at seeing change is immeasurable. Sometimes I get asked how often we see success stories, and my answer always is ‘it depends what you mean'. The amount of people becoming totally abstinent from illicit drugs is probably less than 5%, but if we measure success by an improvement in the lives of our clients then the figure is much higher.
In October 1997 I really felt God gave me a verse which was to characterise my future...
“The LORD will guide you always:
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.”
Isaiah 58:11&12
At the time I wasn't sure what this would mean, and I definitely didn't think it would be fulfilled in my future career. Some days I have to keep reminding myself that my work is a vocation and a privilege. When all I hear is about funding cuts, drug-related deaths and the sheer bureaucracy that goes with drug treatment I keep trying to hold onto this promise. The two clients I saw today personified this promise, and just when I needed it God gave me a very vivid reminder both of what he has done in my life, but also what he does through my life.