The drug pandemic took one of her children. But Bobbie Ziemer decided, “Not in vain!”
Lord willing.
Today’s blog is dedicated to Madison Ziemer Cross in remembrance of her beautiful life and honoring the anniversary of her entrance to heaven on October 10, 2017. Please help us by sharing today’s blog.
We love this darling, youthful picture of Madison with her horse.The Drug Pandemic
Perhaps you dismiss the drug pandemic happening across our nation as media hype. Just one more story on the nightly news. Certainly, sometimes it’s easier to check out rather than face a reality we don’t understand.
However, Bobbie’s experience will open your heart to understand how families suffer.
“At the height of my career was when our family was introduced to this disease,” begins Bobbie. “I purposely worked as hard as I did.” As a single mom, she wanted to make sure they lived in the nicest of neighborhood she could manage. (Find more on how to be your family’s champion.)
“My kids all went to the best schools that were available. However, I was not immune. My family was not immune,” she adds. “And I like to stand up and say that if there were a poster child of Not My Child, it would be my face on the poster.”
Maybe you, too, lost a child to drugs. Maybe your close friend has. What is life supposed to look like now?
Heartbreakingly, our own family understands how hard it can be to see a young life cut short by drugs. We learned a lot about pain when a beloved young relative overdosed.
In this episode, Bobbie shares some of the common physical symptoms typical for moms who are in the incredibly stressful situation of having a child addicted or losing a child to drugs. She also details how the book came together miraculously. Find this and more Fireside Talk Radio podcasts.
Pandemic, Rather Than Epidemic
When we actually start asking around we find out every family in America is dealing with some loss due to drugs. No wonder Bobbie calls it a pandemic rather than an epidemic.
Are you wondering if your child has a problem? Is your family in crisis because of drugs?
In the midst of our pain, it’s easy to think it’s just our family suffering. But what family hasn’t lost a child, a niece, a nephew, or a loved one to drugs?
Can we protect our families, our children and grandchildren, from drug addiction?
I rarely have people on the show who I don’t know personally. Bobbie Ziemer is an exception in every way.
Bobbie is a powerhouse of a woman.
She has a fancy title with a company you would definitely recognize. Families around the world pay a monthly bill to this giant telecom company—it’s that huge.
A Mom With Broken Heart
But what I loved about Bobbie immediately is she’s just a mom with a broken heart on the mend.
When tragedy struck, robbing her of her beautiful daughter, Madison, her first reaction was to keep pressing on. With COVID, Bobbie found it impossible to avoid or deny suffering all around her. She began to face the pain of how her daughter died.
Finally, she took a sabbatical to heal.
“I was feeling my way around in the dark. So last year in March, I decided to step back and to take some time off,” Bobbie says. Although for now Bobbie is legally prevented from discussing details of her daughter’s death, I found a video in this USA Today article.
“And it’s not like the disease of addiction is something people openly talk about. It’s very much hush-hush in the corner. Parents even make other excuses as to why their children have passed away, rather than sharing the real reason,” explains Bobbie.
Not In Vain
Ever resourceful, she searched until she finally found a retreat with other hurting moms. She found she was not alone.
“So the book really came along because I had gone to a mother’s retreat. I had found a support group online, called Not In Vain,” she reports. All proceeds of her book go to support the organization that connected her to the other moms.
In the ebb and flow of her grief over losing her child, she began to wonder how to get resources out there for other families. To comfort others. (Find help for burn out.)
Perhaps she could even get enough information out there to prevent disaster for some families. To educate a nation up to our necks in a drug pandemic we tend to deny. She was determined her family’s suffering would not be in vain.
167 Courageous Moms Share Their Stories
Personally, I don’t know about you, but when I grieve, my brain fogs over. Yet, in the midst of her grief, Bobbie realized she had to tell the story of the drug pandemic. For more, on staying calm in a crisis.
She enlisted the help of God. Plus, 167 more courageous moms. They honored the lives of the children for whom they also mourn by sharing their stories. Bobbie coupled their stories into a powerful, life-affirming, comfort-spreading book: Not In Vain: Mothers Share their Journey through their Child’s Life and Loss to the Drug Pandemic. Over 160 Real-life Stories.
“These are all stories from mothers who lived and fought or are still in the trenches, battling this. You can’t get more of a front view perspective than those who have been on the front lines,” says Bobbie, praising the brave moms who shared their stories so tenderly.
“May these stories give you hope and understanding that you are not alone. May they provide guidance you seek, help you avoid decisions you may regret, and provide direction in the abyss led by the mothers who have walked this painful journey. You can’t change what you don’t know.”~Bobbie Ziemer, from the Introduction to Not In Vain
For Bobbie's tips for safeguarding your child, for who is affected by the drug pandemic and for ways your church can step up, read the full article HERE.
And as always, I am GRATEFUL for YOU!!
Blessings!
