Celebrate Recovery
As we walked into the meeting room at the church last night, neither one of us knew what exactly to expect, we were surprised to be greeted warmly by every individual in the room. This was a safe space, a place to share your own personal story, if you wanted to, and listen to other’s stories, testimonials, and prayers. We both walked away with mixed feelings, one of us uplifted, the other…at least not in a bad mood about it all. I consider the experience a learning one, I may return, even if might not have been his cup of tea. I learned that Celebrate Recovery is not necessarily to “fix” yourself or someone else, it’s more about growing closer to God and accepting that you are not in control. I learned that I am not the cause of my son’s addiction, I cannot control him, or cure him. As for myself, I learned that there are way more issues to be dealt with in a program like this than simple chemical or alcohol dependency. People were there who had control issues, excessive worrying, behavioral issues, lying excessively…all sorts of things. Just having a community to fellowship with, in a safe and loving place, based on bible study and Christian principle, make it a place I would feel comfortable to belong to.
Do I have an addiction? Sure, don’t we all? Do I consider myself an addict? No. Do I have issues that need working on? Yes. Do I want to get closer to God? Yes. Do I love to sing hymns? Absolutely! That alone made me want to go back.
Obviously, I got more out of the meeting than my son, he literally bolted for the door when it was over, while I lingered talking to the ladies in my group a bit more. His cup of tea might be more along the lines of what Al-anon has to say or (provide) but either way, he will be going to some kind of meeting if he wants a place to stay with us. I pray we find something that works for him, that God finds a way into his heart, and that as a family we continue to support him in his recovery, because in my humble opinion, it may be a matter of life and death.
