Strength Through Silence

Patience, prayer, and silence … these are what give strength to the soul.

Saint Faustina Kowalska

There are times living in the family systems illness of substance use disorder that the noise is too much. 

The noise created by the heartbreaking symptoms of the disease can drown out any hope of peace in our lives. 

We must seek silence to quiet all noise, so that we can find strength for our soul. 

Silence and prayer in the midst of the illness of addiction can be difficult. The unpredictability of the disease generates commotion and chaos in a family system. 

The noise drives us to work harder for solutions, for answers, for just about anything to help our families find the firm footing of recovery. 

But the gift of silence and the strength it brings does not come from more action.

It is found through less.

It is through slowing down, paring down, and powering down that clarity is gained, and with it, true solutions. 

Seeking times of silence for prayer and meditation help us develop  patience and wisdom.

There is no need for some elaborate retreat getaway or mountain top cave experience to make room for silence in our noisy lives. We can find silence simply: heading out along a stretch of fresh green country road, sitting in a coffee shop enjoying a decadent dessert, praying at church, taking a yoga class or walking intentionally on the look-out for signs of God’s creative beauty. 

Silence is an ancient tree whose thick trunk grows strong with time – ring upon ring upon ring. 

Prayer, patience and wisdom are her fruits.

Seek rest in the cool of her shade.

How can you make time for silence and prayer?  

Nancy and her son, JP, are co-authors of Unchained: Our Family’s Addiction Mess Is Our Message. Their book tells the true story of JP’s descent into opioid and alcohol addiction and homelessness to recovery to become co-founder of a treatment health care system.