Missing Angels

 Missing Angels 

Leigh and I have been on this grief journey since June 1, 2019, the day our son Mark passed from a substance use overdose. There have been times when we were angry, sad, frustrated, and depressed - sometimes separately, sometimes all at once. 

There are so many others who have shared this experience, and too many who are, and sadly will. This madness of the opioid epidemic has to stop! 

Orleans Recovery - Hope Begins Here offered 'Missing Angels' as a program to help those coping with grief from a substance use passing. Orleans Recovery has approved our continuing this program as an outreach to the citizens of Orleans County, Genesee County, Western Monroe County, and Eastern Niagara County in Western New York. We are happy to do this, to be A Voice For Mark, in this continuing struggle. 

Missing Angels meets twice a month, once in an online meeting, and then in-person. We welcome any and all who have gone through this horrible experience of living with, and losing, a loved one who has suffered with, and died from a substance use disorder. 

Please contact Leigh and I for details on where and when we hold the meetings. You are not alone in this.

Reassuring Dreams

 

After a loved one passes, we often look for the reassurance of a better place where they are, and waiting for us. 

Some believe the Lord of Heaven sends dreams in the night to instruct us (Psalms 16:7), or to give us peace (Bible Promises About Dreams). 

Parents, families, and friends who have lost a loved one to substance use overdose all too often are searching for this reassurance of a 'better' place, a 'healing' place, where there loved one is no longer suffering or in pain

This dream came to me early Monday morning. In the dream, someone came and told me Mark had    passed away. I argued, crying, he had not. The next moment he walked through the door, and I said,   "See, he is very much alive."

Perhaps the reassurance Job received in his trials can apply to us even today. "I know that my Redeemer lives." I know Mark and I shall be reunited one day, and what a happy reunion that will be!

Leigh and I hope that sharing our experiences will bring peace and comfort to those who are suffering grief, as we are.