One of my favorite people in the entire world, my Uncle Jody, has spent the last several years battling with drugs. Our family knew it, but we also knew (thanks to previous family history of addiction) that we could not help him if he was not ready to help himself. And so we watched, painfully, as he slipped away from us.
A few weeks before last Christmas, my Unc posted on Facebook about his new job. I wrote on his post that I was proud of him. I'll never forget that evening, because Unc called me and slowly admitted the hell that he had put himself through, being basically at rock bottom, but beginning to pull himself out of the fog. On that day, he had been clean for about a week. Something in his voice made me believe him, and that evening I made the decision to help my Uncle.
Over the next few weeks, we took it day by day. Of course I was torn inside - was helping him just enabling the drug lifestyle he had been living or was he truly on the mend? With constant support from my husband, and after much prayer to God for wisdom and guidance, I followed my heart and did whatever I could do to help my Uncle while he got back on his feet. Thankfully, other members of our family began to help as well. Then, the point quickly came when my Uncle was able to support himself.
During this time Unc and I had so many conversations, honest and raw conversations, about what he had been through and what it took for him to recover. My Unc's ultimate goal was to gain his family back, his three beautiful almost-grown daughters, who had spent several years with a shell of a father. My Uncle knew it would take time to win their trust, and he put one foot in front of the other, day after day after day. Meanwhile, he continued to earn success and praise at his new job, with each small victory helping him build his confidence and giving him momentum to move forward.
My Uncle Jody is a success story. He takes responsibility for where he has been, and he takes responsibility for where he is going. He is grateful and awed by the help he has received along the way, and although at times the road seems insurmountable, he continues to move along step by step by step. His girls see that he is dependable, that he is there when he says he will be there. And all of us are beginning to trust him again. More importantly, we are all enjoying him again.
During our conversations those first few weeks around Christmas, I suggested to my Uncle that he put his story into writing. Unc is a beautiful writer, and the emotion in his story could help so many other people. Here we are a few months later and Unc has found his voice. His postings on Facebook inspire me every day. Today's post especially illustrates the journey my Uncle is on, and I want to share it with you. I don't think he will mind, since he is very honest and open about the story himself. I hope that his story inspires you, too.
The Cup, by Jody
During the end of February
and the first few weeks of March, I had the occasion to walk over 100 miles
since I had no other way to get to work and come Hell or High water I just
wasn't going to let a little problem like being without a car keep me from my
appointed rounds....There were some hard days as well as some easy ones and it
was certainly a great way to find my way around the new digs albeit a little
tiresome at times.
One day Kelcie offered me a ride and I politely declined and
said I was just fine walking, I explained to her that in my mind, every mile I
walked was in some small fashion, my way of paying due diligence and a form of penance
for some of the wrongs I had committed during my lost days of drug addiction
and loneliness. I felt that for every step I made walking it may somehow lead
me back to the path of goodness that I so badly wanted to be on.
Now most of you know that
I don't litter and for all the mistakes I've made (quite a few if you weren't keeping
track) one thing I've never done is leave trash laying around...One morning
while trudging the 1-1/2 miles to the office, I finished the cup of coffee so
graciously donated to me by the Holiday Inn Corporation (more on that later)
and since the temperature was hovering in the high 20's I just HAD to leave
that empty cup on a handrail along the sidewalk so that I could put my freezing
paws in my pockets. I felt horrible about leaving that cup but figured I would
retrieve it on my walk back home after work. Wouldn't you know it that a big
storm rolled in that day and when I passed the cup on my way home my hands were
freezing again!
Now being the perpetual
and consummate procrastinator that I am (try saying THAT three times with my
lisp) I justified leaving the cup right where it was because it had gathered
about half an inch of rain during the day and I told myself that with every
drop of rain it caught, that it was a sign from the Big Guy upstairs that he
was taking a notice of all my hard work and efforts in trying to find the right
path again and he was keeping track through raindrops from Heaven. Well after
two weeks of rain, that cup was overflowing with water and in my sick mind, I
actually considered expanding my newfound business with another cup and that
way I could have two locations for the God in a cup franchise I had stumbled
upon.....But alas as soon as I started to get ahead on my good deeds, Spring
came to the foothills and no more rain fell, and on top of that, someone or
something toppled my cup and it was as dry as a bone.....My only choices at
this point were to right the cup and start over again, or quit....so I righted
that cup! Two more weeks of mild weather and the blessing of a new vehicle made
me forget about that old cup until one Monday morning after two beautiful weeks
of Sunshine, I couldn't live with the guilt of leaving it instead of putting it
in the trash so I drove to the handrail where I had walked for almost a Month
and much to my surprise it still sat in the little notch above the sidewalk and
when I went to pick it up, I couldn't believe it but it was full to the top
with what I HAVE to believe were raindrops sent from Heaven and I instantly
welled up with tears on a sidewalk in the Gold Country....A grown Man crying with
a Holiday Inn Coffee cup in his hand and never felt more proud in my
life...Thanks Big Guy
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