Thoughts on addictions

Who is Nat?

My name is Natalie Husk, although most people call me Nat (except my parents!). I was born and raised in Cornwall and am proud of it! I have always been involved in the church, whether going to my local village chapel in Common Moor, joining with bus loads from Cornwall at MAYC events, helping at the District Children’s Holiday or even attending Synod a few times! I am very thankful to the Cornwall District, the Liskeard & Looe Circuit and of course Common Moor chapel for being such valuable parts in my journey of faith.

Today I live in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, where I work as a youth worker for the Methodist Church. I run after school clubs, youth clubs, a youth fellowship, do outreach work and organise trips away. Not long ago I was asked by a youth group, to give them a weekly topic for reflection, an email containing something to focus them on God for the week. So every week I sit at my computer and write down my thoughts! It started quite small, with just the young people receiving them, and now lots of people of all ages find my thoughts in their email inbox!

It is a huge privilege for me to find that people enjoy and are challenged by what I have written, especially that I can now share what God has done for me with those who walked with me at the beginning of my journey. Ultimately these reflections are aimed at the young people I now work with, but if God can speak to others through them, how great is that!!

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December
Advice
I Love You

November
38. Bald is beautiful
37. Fire
36 Sleep
35 Music

October 2006
34. Stupidity
33. Painting
32. mmm Pasties
31. Built to last
30. Phlegm

September 2006
29. Meetings
28. Crime thoughts
27. Colours
26. Unwanted guests

August 2006
25. Comparison
24. Waterproof Mascara
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July 2006
21. Attraction
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18. Laughter
17. Factoids

June 2006
16. Voiceless
15. Bruises (ouch)
14. Sunburn
13. Mistakes

May 2006
12. Arms
11. Willow Tree
10. Eurovision
9. Chicken
8. Addictions

April 2006
7. Age
6. Celebrities
5. Language

March 2006
4. Commonwealth Games
3. Decisions
2. Drizzle
1. Trelawney

Addictions

hey there! Sorry for the delay this week - I've had trouble thinking!!

I am reading a book at the moment. Well obviously not at this moment, as I am clearly typing this, but I am reading this book in my spare time. I can’t put it down and it has me totally gripped. This book was sent to me anonymously by a friend – it had changed their life and they wanted me to read it (not sure if I should be insulted that they think my life needs changing!). I read the back cover and groaned. It is a book about addiction. It is a book about this guy who goes into rehab because he is an alcoholic, a drug addict and a criminal. Cheery reading I hear you say! My thoughts exactly.

Well I decided to attempt to read it as my friend sent it to me for a reason, and I now can’t put it down. This story about a broken man, who at aged just 23 (for those younger ones, 23 is not that old!) has been to the pits of hell because of his addictions. I can’t explain how compelling this true story is, or why I am grabbed by every page – it certainly doesn’t glamorise drink and drugs and the language isn’t nice and cheery, but I am hooked.

As I read I think about how this guy has been dominated with addictions and I feel smug – I am not an alcoholic (no, really I am not!) I have never taken drugs and I would have no idea what to do in a betting shop. I therefore am perfect…or not. I have my addictions but they are less visible but they are still there. Every time I use my computer I have to play a game of spider solitaire. Well actually I have to play until I win! (then if I have time I have to play again to prove that it wasn’t a fluke I won that game!). In the mornings I need to have a cup of tea, before I can get up properly and go about my life. When I get the Radio Times I have to go through and circle all the programmes I want to watch in the coming week. Now I know what you’re thinking, a game of cards, a morning cuppa and a graffitied magazine are hardly all consuming, life threatening addictions. But without them I feel a little less at ease, something just isn’t right and my routine is messed up. An addiction isn’t just something you have to go to rehab for (Hi my name’s Natalie and I’m a solitaire addict!) but it’s something which takes precedence in your life, the thing your life becomes about, the main focus of your attention, the thing you can’t live without. I may joke about needing a brew in the morning or just having to know what TV I’m going to watch, but when I can’t function without these things I have to acknowledge there’s a problem. What addictions do you have? They may be small and seemingly inconsequential or they maybe more of a problem. This week I challenge you to look at your life – what priority do you put on things? What can you not complete a day without? If you can identify something, why not see if you can give it up for a while in order to contemplate what is important in your life, after all anything we struggle to do without is getting in the way of our relationship with Jesus.

well, have a great week and I really must get off and finish that game of solitaire before tea!

Lots of love, nat xxx