I was naïve until I became a preacher’s wife. To me the world was a good place; at least for families that followed the rules, worked hard, and paid their bills. There were people who did bad things, but they lived out there somewhere. I was unlikely to bump into them in my safe suburban life.

Then my husband became a pastor. When the friend of a church member died of a drug overdose, we were thrust into the world of addiction. As we grieved with those left behind, our eyes were opened to the horror of substance abuse. We began to reach out to a community of addicts in our small town as the ‘pastor’ component in a Celebrate Recovery group.

During our weekly meetings I thought we were ministering to them. But I learned so much more about myself.
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