reflective

“I couldn’t tell you when Mama died—but the reason I wanted to leave Harlem so bad was to get away from drugs.  And then, when I ran away, that’s what I was running from—really.  When I came back, nothing had changed, I hadn’t changed, I was just—older.” (Sonny’s Blues pg 406)

Have you ever known someone who tried to “run away” from their problem(s) by moving to a new place or changing schools?  I have.  I remember like it was yesterday…the first week of school here at SEU as a freshman.  It seems like you meet EVERYONE on campus.  I remember talking to girls and hearing them tell me how they came to a Christian school because they wanted to stop drinking, doing drugs, sleeping with guys, etc., but they couldn’t do it if they stayed at home.  Unfortunately, I would say about 95% of those girls ended up doing those exact same things even while here at SEU.  Nothing changed.  Many people believe that if they change their location that their problems won’t follow them.  The truth is, they can’t run away from them.  It might seem to be the solution at first, but eventually those issues begin to creep back into their lives.  If one doesn’t take the time, and sometimes painful, effort it takes to deal with their problems in life, nothing will ever change. 

We see this in Sonny’s Blues.  Sonny says while talking to his brother that the real reason he wanted to leave home (Harlem) was to get away from drugs.  But in the end, when he came back, nothing changed.  He hadn’t changed.  He was just older.  The temptations were still there, and the drugs never disappeared.  Sonny then mentions afterwards, “It can come again” –in reference to his heroine addiction.  Because Sonny didn’t deal with his drug addiction on his own, it never went away.  Just because he’d been clean for a while in jail doesn’t mean he wouldn’t do it again.  Had Sonny dealt with his drug addiction while he was still home, it is very unlikely that he would use again after returning home from serving.  He might not have ever left in the first place!

Thankfully, we as Christians have the love of the Father to help and love us through any type of problem or addiction!  Had those girls I met my freshman year actually sought after the Lord for themselves and looked to mentors to keep them accountable through their struggles, I believe they wouldn’t have ended up like they did.  No matter how impossible the situation may seem, nothing is impossible for our Lord.