From Hurt to Hope: Breaking the Chains of Addiction

• By candidasullivan
• June 1, 2026
• No Comments

Will you be the one to break the cycle?

Right now, there are kids carrying burdens too heavy for them to carry. They see the bare shelves and wonder when more food will arrive. They feel the loneliness of abandonment and the fear of what comes next. They see their friends with families and wish they could have that too. But they don’t know where their mom or dad is or if they are coming home. 

There’s no one to make them dinner or help them with their homework. Or to just simply ask them about their day and listen intently as they explain. The kids hear the promises slurred and feel the heartbreak when they are broken.

The kids suffer the most. 

Every day, they watch the one they love leave them for something they love more. Maybe the person is still there in body, but the moment the drugs go through their system, the one they love drifts away.

They struggle at school because it’s hard to concentrate with a mind full of worries and a broken heart. Maybe they get in trouble because no one has shown them how to process all of the fear and anger. Maybe they act up because they so desperately want someone to see them and care about their situation. 

I’ve seen these situations for years, and it breaks my heart. I’ve heard kids beg their parents to stop. And I’ve seen the toll it takes on the kids when the parents don’t. 

Sometimes they follow in their parents’ footsteps. They continue on the cycle of drugs and pain. But to stop it, someone has to be willing and determined to break the cycle. 

Will it be you?

Will you learn ways to cope with life without numbing? 

Will you decide to stop and change the path for future generations?

Honestly, I don’t know what the process might look like for you. I know it will be hard to break free from the strongholds, but I also know it is possible. If you truly want freedom, it is possible. God can help you take the steps to get there.

Someone loves you. Someone prays constantly for you to stop. Someone needs you to stop. 

If you can’t do it for you, do it for them. For just a moment, I want you to imagine what life might be like for them if you don’t stop. I’m not someone who is often motivated by imagining the good. It’s the bad that often gets me to change. So, I ask you to please be open to seeing what your choices might do to your babies. 

Imagine them standing beside your coffin, weeping. 

Imagine all the special events in their lives you will miss. 

Imagine them struggling in life and needing you. 

Imagine them carrying the pain with them the rest of their lives. 

The pain you will endure from stopping is nothing compared to what they will feel if you don’t. 

Please, do it for your babies. They deserve the absolute best version of you! God can help you. He wants to help you. God can help you overcome it all and help others to do the same. 

Psalm 40:1-3 KJV

40 I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.

2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.

3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.

Let’s also imagine the good. Imagine being there for your kids and giving them opportunities you never had. Imagine a home with laughter and peace. Imagine being there for every beautiful moment in their lives and celebrating every milestone. 

You can have it. The good life with your kids. Maybe it won’t be easy, but you can endure and overcome. Decide that you want it more than anything else. And let God help you figure out every step. 

Today, it could be your first step toward a beautiful life. The one you all dream of. 

I’m praying for you. And I believe in you!