My congregation is made up largely of folks over 65. There are lots of unseen children and grandchildren spread across the country about whom I hear much. And lately, I've been hearing an awful lot about drugs.

I just counted to double check...right now, ten percent of the families in my congregation are struggling with a family member who is addicted to drugs...and I'm talking big, bad drugs like crystal meth and heroin. They are young folks, parents of young children, and middle aged...spread across the country. They are from broken homes and nuclear families, blue collar and white collar, highly educated and not.

I weep for these people and their families. I listen and I pray and make referrals when I can. I hope. And I wonder....

Is this an oddly high percentage? Is drug abuse really this common?

Our church hosts a number of Narcotics Anonymous groups and since they walk across my yard two times a week to get to their cars, even while I try to grant them their privacy, I've gotten friendly with a number of the folks attending meetings...and it may just be my imagination, but it seems there are more and more people at these meetings...

I marvel at the transformation these folks have made in their lives and know it is a daily struggle for them...and for their families.

But I also marvel at how differently these parents, siblings, and grandparents react to their loved ones' addictions. There is every reaction from denial to anger to pity to stubbornness. Some can't seem to grasp being a slave to addiction, certain their loved one could lick it if they just tried hard enough.

I wonder...after years of decreases in drug use, are we about to see a new era of addiction?

Am I stuck in some odd vortex, or are others experiencing something similar?