Gift of Goodness | Anna: A Story of Joy

17 Dec 2018

PRAYER: Lord Our God, You are the source of all. Accompany us this Advent as we prepare for the coming of Jesus. Guide us and lead us Lord as we use our gifts of goodness to work as one to create the world you want. Awake in my heart hope, peace, love and joy this Advent. We ask this prayer in Your name, Amen.

We all have our faults and know that at times we are not perfect. Families are the same sometimes they’re just not perfect. Anna’s family was facing troubled times more and more when her older brother started to make some bad decisions.

It was not long before he was struggling to fight his addictions and all of the chaos that created in their family. Anna’s mum and dad didn’t seem to know how to help her brother and the added stress and pressure resulted in more fights at home than there used to be.

When a family member is in the grip of an addiction it affects the whole family. CatholicCare runs a program for the families of people who are addicted to alcohol, drugs or gambling. It’s called Family Recovery.

The Family Recovery program helps children like Anna to see that they are never alone and that there is always someone to talk to. The program teaches them resilience, coping mechanisms and an understanding that they are not responsible for the addict’s behaviour. Helping children become more resilient means that they can find joy in their lives again.

CatholicCare’s Family Recovery program runs one of Sydney’s only group therapy services that works with children from families with addicts, like Anna. When Anna and her family worked with CatholicCare to help them cope with her brother’s bad decisions they all learned to find a bit more joy in family life. The adults in her family helped her brother change his ways and they helped Anna get back to being a kid and having a more joyful life.

Learning how to be a child again is a gift we can give them through Family Recovery. When you support CatholicCare, you are helping children like Anna find joy again.

REFLECT

What does it feel like when joy is missing from your life, like it was in Anna’s?
Why is joy a gift of goodness?
Where do you find joy in your life?
Why is it important that programs like Family Recovery are available to help families of people who suffer from addiction?
Anna’s family did not turn their back on their brother, can you think of a similar story from the Bible.

SEE, JUDGE ACT

See

What exactly is happening?
What is it doing to the people?
Why is this happening?

Judge

What do you think about all this?
What do you think should be happening?
What does your faith say?

Act

What exactly is it that you want to change?
What actions are you going to take now?
Who can you involve in your action?

Many Sydney families need extra help at Christmas time. Some can’t afford even the most basic food items to make a healthy meal, let alone Christmas dinner. And some need extra assistance because their family is in crisis at Christmas time. This year the good people at Harris Farm Markets are helping us provide nutritious Christmas Hampers for the many people who call CCareline needing food and help. You can give a Gift of Goodness by collecting money for hampers and by sending messages of love to families facing hardship.

giftofgoodness.com.au

This feature is a part of the 2018 Advent Calendar, which is available to download for free as an app.

Download on iPhone: http://bit.do/adventiphone
Download on iPad: http://bit.do/adventipad
Download on an Android phone: http://bit.do/adventandroid
Download on an Android tablet: http://bit.do/adventandroidHD