The normalcy of addiction

We work (my colleagues and I) at a small little office in a strip with a few other offices.  One of those places is a recovery center for alcohol addiction.  It seemed when I first began that the people I most noticed were the more eccentric people that came through.  I mean, when you hear the various, yelling, screaming, laughing, and crying in the bathroom on the other side of your office wall, you end up noticing the more interesting and outlandish...  Lately however either the demographic has changed, or God is opening my eyes.  The "normal" people at the center have seemed to increase.  These are the forty-fifty year old moms, the younger career type men,  the young guy who seems quite athletic.  There is the business woman, the older man, and everyone in between.  Lately if I didn't know better I would just think that some of these people are outside on their smoking breaks rather than trying to figure out how to overcome their addictions.  These people, including those who seem a bit more eccentric, have become more real to me over the last few weeks.  The idea that everyone has their struggles, that so many of us are good at hiding things.  This idea has begun to permeate who I am and how I look at the world.  Yes, they may not be quite as addictive or as "big" as drinking, but they are real in any case.  However, it demonstrates the importance of doing real life with others in the family of God.