Daniel Darling: Celebrating recovery, offering hope

NICK EICHER:, HOST Today is Tuesday, April 29th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. Up next…WORLD contributor Daniel Darling says famous stories of recovery should inspire those helping addicts to overcome.

DANIEL DARLING: It's been quite a ride for Beverly Aikins. In 2015, she was at rock bottom. Homeless and living out of her car, she had no contact with her children and had squandered a promising nursing career. Her story is portrayed in the bestselling Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance, made into a movie by director Ron Howard.

Little did Mrs. Aikins know that a decade later her journey of recovery would be celebrated in one of the most powerful rooms in the world. Her son—now the vice president of the United States—kept a campaign promise and honored her at the White House.

It’s a beautiful story, from despair to hope. Given a pain-killer at work one day, the nurse immediately knew she’d have a craving for more drugs. She soon spiraled into abusing both narcotics and alcohol, even selling substances in the hospital. She lost her Ohio nursing license. In his book, Vance chronicled the trauma he suffered with an unstable mother, remembering vividly the time she was arrested.

Though their relationship was understandably rocky during his formative years, Vice President Vance and his mother have since grown close, and he has celebrated her remarkable recovery…both privately and publicly.

Earlier this month—with the White House seal behind him—the vice president said, “Well, here we are. And you made it, and we made it. And most importantly, you’re celebrating a very, very big milestone. And I’m just very proud of you. I’m, I’m gonna try not to cry here.”

You couldn’t blame him if he did cry. This was not only an important moment for this improbable occupant of one of the most powerful positions in the world, but an important moment for many Americans. Men and women like Beverly Aikins who battle drug and alcohol addictions. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health forty-eight million Americans struggle with substance abuse. Like the Vance family, that represents a lot of heartache, misery, and despair. Drug problems in our communities have faces.

Many families weep and pray over sons or daughters, mothers or fathers, who can’t seem to overcome the grip of addiction.

The vice presidency is a powerful platform. By highlighting his mother’s story, Vice President Vance can point many other Americans to find help and hope. It reminds me of the powerful way in which first lady Betty Ford shared her own struggles with addiction. Many thousands of people have been helped by the Fords’ establishment of treatment centers across the country.

For Christians, Beverly Aikins’s story should be a reminder that many like her exist in our communities…precious souls who struggle with serious addictions. The church can offer help and hope for those who struggle under the weight of the fall. The gospel offers forgiveness of sin, redemption, and the possibility of change through the power of the Holy Spirit. Even for those who know the Lord, the path away from addiction is rarely easy or quick. In a fallen world sanctification comes in fits and starts.

This is why God’s people must come alongside those who have found themselves on the margins of society. Jesus often walked among those who had come to the end of themselves. He offered to them—and to us—the promise found in Matthew chapter 11 verse 28: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

I’m Daniel Darling.

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