Addiction, Movies and Goose's wingman

Movie going, for me, has always been a 2 hour escape to an experiential place I'd like to go or a character I'd like to be. All of us who watched Top-Gun pictured ourselves in the cockpit with Goose. 

Last night, while surfing Amazon Prime Movies, I happened on a movie called "Beautiful Boy". Bored, I honestly had no idea what the movie was about. The next two hours took me into the world of methamphetamines, a father and son and their journey. It was the sad story of a young son who began smoking pot at a young age to fill a void in his heart, and ended up injecting his veins with meth, heroine and other narcotics. This was not a feel-good movie. In fact, the movie left me feeling hopeless for the young son. 

Drugs have the ingredients to make a person hopeless; they have the power to break up families and ruin marriages. The trajectory of small decisions can spiral a life into a meaningless world and even death. 

I have never used any type of illegal substance. However, I have seen the destruction that it can have on the person and their family. There is nothing good, and I mean nothing, that comes from a "little" high. Its like opening the door to pandora's box. Small choices can generate many complicated problems.

If you're a parent, consider watching the movie. It will leave you with the urgency of understanding the fallen nature of the world we live in. Speak to your kids. Be an example to them. As the movie demonstrated, a child has an empty space in their heart, help them fill it with God! 

Unlike putting myself in the cockpit of Tom Cruises' fighter jet, where I ended up this glorious naval pilot hero, this movie placed me in the shoes of a helpless, hopeless parent. It provided for me the compassion each of us should feel for a parent that is doing everything they can do for a situation that makes them feel hopeless.  Today, I spent a few minutes in prayer thanking God for the kids I know who are recovering addicts and I prayed for the parents who woke up this morning asking "why?" Join me in that prayer.