[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]For Natasha it was not hard to choose between her drug of choice and her children, because the drugs won by far; every time. When her sons were 3 and 6 years old, she left them in her mother’s care. She went off in pursuit of Tik, living in places that were far from fit and safe enough for her boys anyway.
Natasha’s boys knew their mother and desperately wanted to be with her. Whenever they saw her, they would cry for her. This made Natasha temporarily long for her boys, but very soon the pull of drugs would numb out this longing and she would just carry on her affair with Tik.
After 6 years, Natasha finally saw her drug-controlled life for what it was and she hated it; she did, however, have no power to turn things around on her own. She didn’t have anywhere to turn to, as her family wrote her off a long time ago and all her friends were addicts too. That is when she cried out to God for help.
On that day, God miraculously opened her mother’s heart towards her plight. Her mother took her into her home for the weekend and on the Monday, she sent her to a drug rehabilitation center.
When Natasha’s boys were 9 and 12 years old, she was ready to take up her mother role again. She was so scared to face her boys, as she was unsure how they would respond to her return. She had so much guilt over abandoning her boys for so many years. She just couldn’t be sure that her boys would be able to accept and forgive her.
To her surprise, her boys welcomed her with so much love. They didn’t care about the past, they just wanted their mother back. Natasha’s boys supported her all the way as she grew stronger in her recovery and learned the ropes of motherhood.
Even with all the love and acceptance, it was still very hard for Natasha to get confident in her mother role. It was hard to start carrying all the responsibility of motherhood. Because she stepped back into her children’s lives when they were teenagers, discipline was challenging and Natasha still often butted heads with her boys. Being a mother remains a steep learning curve for her.
However, Natasha wants to encourage every mother who is battling addiction and wondering if they should return to their children, with the following words, “All that your children wants is a mother. They love you so much and they need you! The best thing you can do is to love them in return and be there for them.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]