A Life of Recovery...Or Not

Last night I watched Lady Sings the Blues starring Diana Ross and Billy Dee Williams.  For those of you who don't know, this is a bio pic about jazz singer Billie Holiday. 

I had seen this movie as a teen and had always loved it.  It introduced me to one of the greatest jazz voices of our time (sort of since Diana Ross does all the singing) and fed my love for history.  Wow!  Age sure does play a huge role in your perceptions.  Watching it last night, I kept thinking, why did I love this movie so much?  Yes, it's still a good story and the songs are amazing, but what the heck?  According to the movie, Lady Day had the love of a wonderful man and had a bit of fame and fortune.  Why did she keep going back to the opium and heroin?  Here are my thoughts about the issue.
First of all, I have never personally had to deal with substance abuse so I can only imagine how difficult it must be to break that cycle.  Second of all, the movie was loosely based on her life.  The movie didn't show all the abusive men that came in and out of her life.  It didn't tell us the story of being born to teenage parents, being raped at the age of 10, and having to live in a strict girls' reformatory after that rape.  It does portray, a little bit, her work in a brothel; first as a housekeeper and then as a prostitute.  It doesn't show the despair Miss Holiday must have felt at being punished for crimes that were not her own (rape, possession of drugs).  And the wonderful relationship with Louis McKay?  Mostly fiction.  Yes she did have a relationship with him, but it was nothing like the loving relationship portrayed in the film.  Also, the film painted a picture of Billie Holiday as an innocent who had no control over the things that happened to her.  I'm thinking this could be because Diana Ross was the darling of Berry Gordy, who produced this movie, and at the time he had an image to uphold for Diana Ross.  One more point, addicts were viewed differently 70-80 years ago.  They were viewed strictly as criminals with moral failings.  They didn't always get the kinds of treatment that would allow them to break these destructive behaviors.  They weren't given tools to help them deal with the stresses of life that caused them to turn to drugs or alcohol in the first place.  Thank goodness some things have changed!

My husband has dealt with alcoholism all his life.  His maternal grandparents were both alcoholics who abandoned their children at various times.  He is the youngest of five brothers and he has one sister that is younger.  Three of his older brothers have had problems with drugs and alcohol.   BunBun wasn't immune to the genetics unfortunately.  His oldest brother gave him his very first drink at the age of 12.  I've never told you the whole story about BunBun and me (another post, another time) but I was with him during some of those years that his brothers were supplying him with alcohol and marijuana.  Anyway...he never really had a chance.  That's not an excuse because at some point you start to recognize right from wrong and the destruction those things can have on your life.  But I'm proud to tell you that in June of this year BunBun will have 4 years of sobriety.   It's something he has worked very hard on and I believe he will be the first to tell you he couldn't have done it without God.  That being said, I was super excited to be able to receive - free of charge- The Life Recovery Bible from Tyndale House Publishers.

 This New Living Translation Bible was edited to help those who have or are going through recovery programs.  The editors are Stephen Arterburn, founder and chairman of New Life Ministries and David Stoop, founder and director of The Center for Family Therapy.  There are several devotionals throughout the bible that provide a biblical basis for recovery.  There are the Twelve Step Devotionals, Serenity Prayer Devotionals, and Recovery Principle Devotionals.  Another great feature of this Bible is the profiles of Bible characters and important recovery lessons that they provide.  There are also book outlines, a topical index, and an user's guide to name a few. 
I looked over the Bible and read a few of the devotionals.  I enjoyed them and felt they could even be applied to the life of someone who is not going through recovery.  My husband also enjoyed it and said the features that dealt with recovery were well-written and easy to follow.  He did say that some people that attend twelve step programs may take offense to someone bringing the Bible to a meeting because not everyone identifies their "higher power" as God.  However, we both agreed that this Bible would be very useful to someone who has accepted that God is the ONLY higher power and is on the road to becoming a true follower of Christ.
Getting clean and/or sober is not an easy process.  It takes years and lots of hard work.  I'm thankful that my husband has decided he is worth the effort of recovery.  I'm thankful that GOD allowed me to marry this wonderful man.  I'm also happy that the Life Recovery Bible is available to people like my husband who are seeking to do God's will and stay on the recovery path.

I received this Bible, free of charge, from Tyndale House Publishers.  The opinions expressed here are 100% my own.  I was not compensated in any other way by Tyndale.