Why Can't He Tell the Truth?

There is a quote about a tangled web of deceit and how it weaves itself tighter and tighter with every lie.  I never knew how true it was until my son became so intertwined in the drug culture. What would start out as a small lie would grow and grow until it was impossible to find the truth in all the layers of deceit. He got to where he would lie when the truth would serve him better.

It is so frustrating to try to glean the truth from the untruths. I found myself trying to complete the half truths with my speculations. That made matters even worse because I would fill in the blanks with the worst possible scenario. Many times I needed to, many times I did not.

Some things were very clear. There is no doubting a forged check. But often things would go missing and not be noticed for days. That would lead to accusations and arguments.  Sometimes we could catch him in the act, like the time he took his grandfather's pain medicine for his amputated leg. We were able to retrieve the pills. But more often than not we were unable to retrieve the stolen goods.

My husband noticed a signature print missing from his office the night after he had taken my son to a college football game. He had pawned the picture for drug money. Luckily, my husband was able to buy the print back, but we were not so lucky with two missing X Boxes, a PlayStation3, and a diamond bracelet.

After testing positive on a drug test, the courts allowed him to go to a Christian based program in Tennessee. The day my husband drove him to Knoxville, I got a phone call from my brother. My son had forged a check for several thousand dollars on the checking account of my late father’s estate. I was beyond angry.

My husband and son were just past the state line when I called. He admitted his actions. I guess we should have brought him home, but we decided to let him finish the program. We had hopes that it would change him.

You may ask why I just didn't let him get arrested. I was afraid that he might be forced to spend a lifetime in jail for being a repeat offender. I knew it was the disease and not my son acting that way. Fear was guiding my decisions. It was not until his arrest for robbery that I was made aware of his arrest record. He actually had only one prior recorded felony.  Another God thing considering how many times he had been arrested.

His web of deceit finally overtook his brilliant mind. Unable to make the right choices, he robbed a pharmacy.  What followed was like a dream, it just didn't seem real but it was.  All I can do now is look back with amazement and say thank you, Lord.   Thank you for saving my son.  Like the sun breaking through the clouds on a hazy morning, God's glory shone through that web of deceit and exposed the darkness.  His journey is not over and neither is mine. I just pray he can continue to walk in the light.