Loss: Encouragement After Losing a Loved One to AddictionSample

Today’s encouragement for hope in the face of loss is written by Cindy Bowling, who lost her son Jordan to substance use disorder in 2015.

I lost my son, Jordan Birmingham July 26, 2015 to an accidental heroin overdose.

The first verse I read after being angry, hurt, and unsure why I lost him to substance use was Deuteronomy 28:6: “You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.”

I didn’t understand why drugs had a stronger pull on Jordan than his family did, until reading the Bible, it became clear that Satan saw a weakness in him.

I have learned through my great loss that giving my child to God on a daily basis will give me the strength I need to trust God and my community.

And then there’s James 5:15: “And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.”

I believe this passage applies to us, the families of the lost. I turned from God when Jordan passed, but God stood beside me for three years while I suffered in silence. I didn’t see Him with me until I opened my eyes to His mercy.

During my first Hope After Loss retreat, a woman working at our Lodge was cleaning our space when she saw Jordan’s photograph and recognized him. She used to work with him at a high-end pizza parlor, and she immediately reached out to me to let me know how much they were friends. This was my first “God wink,” and my most favorite.

It touched my soul and I smile every time I get to tell it. This was hope I hadn’t felt yet.