Making Amends

Making Amends

Today is a sad day, but today is also a day to rejoice in the life of a friend; a life cut all to short by an untimely death.

There are countless people all over the world who are in grief right now for a near and dear one who has been torn from their lives.  Each story different, each individual grief different from the next.

How we deal with loss is purely down to each and every one of us, but for me…..today I am able to celebrate.  Anger and bitterness can destroy us and there are times when it is not possible to forgive, but forgive we must; if only for our own sanity and survival.

Dave was a man in his mid-forties and I only met him about five months ago, but when he came to our meetings with a gambling problem he was a broken man.  Yet he embraced the chance to make amends and not only did he never gamble again, he began to repay all the love others around him had given him. 

I last saw him about a month ago and his face literally shone with hope and recovery.    We had an open meeting recently where he was accompanied by his partner.  It was a joy to see the smile on her face as she realised not only the source of his recovery, but a renewed love for the man she was with.

I have seen so many lives come and go at our addiction meetings; many never to return, but I have learnt to cherish every victory as I watch both men and women piece their lives back together and live rather than exist.

Benjamin Franklin is credited with the words ‘we must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately’ that is true of so many fellowships.  Dave gave us a smile, hope and the joy of watching a life rebuilt.  Yes, it could have been longer, but Dave did so much; leaves so much; was so much in a short space of time.

Thank you Dave

Rest In Peace