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Q: What was your life like before recovery?
“My life before recovery was all about the hurt in my past. It looked great on the outside, but on the inside, I was hiding tremendous pain. I believed that the further I got away from the pain in my past, the better off that I would be.”
Q: What was the turning point in your life?
“The turning point in my life was actually the Purpose Driven Life study that we did here at Covenant. A chapter in that book says that God will use your deepest hurts for His greatest gain. When I read that chapter, I got mad, and I threw the book across the room, and I asked…I cried to God and said, ‘Why would you want to bring that up again? It hurts way too much.’ Since that time and now through Celebrate Recovery, He has shown me that He was actually right. He has shown me through through Matthew 11:28 that says, ‘Come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest, for My yoke is easy and my burden is light.’”
Q: How has Christ restored your life?
“I have experienced an amazing reconciliation since my recovery that wouldn’t have been possible without Jesus. Now, my life is more balanced, and I have a passion to help others who are in recovery as well.”
Q: What would you say to a newcomer?
“I would say, ‘Congratulations, you’ve made the most important decision in your life. The world will tell you to, ‘Just get over it,’ to ‘Get on with your life,’ or just to ‘Get better.’ But, it just isn’t possible without Jesus.’”
Q: What was your life like before recovery?
“Before recovery, before I began to work my recovery, life was numb. I had no ability to deal with my present circumstances or my past history. Once I began to work recovery, and I found Jesus again in my life, I began to know that I didn’t have to stay numb anymore.”
Q: What is your life like now?
Now, my life is an ongoing journey. Recovery is no guarantee that things become perfect overnight, or in a year, or in five years or ten years. But I have the ability to deal with life on life’s terms, one day at a time. In recovery, I have renewed a relationship with God and Jesus Christ, and I have learned how to have real, authentic relationships with people, which is something I have never been able to do.”
Q: How have you seen Jesus in your recovery?
“I see Jesus in my recovery on a daily basis. As a part of recovery, I have learned that my correct priority of relationship is God, self, and others. Through that, I see Jesus working in my life. Jesus has helped me through things that before, I could have never gone through alone.”
Q: What is your life like now?
“Every day, I look forward to the next day. I look forward to coming to church on Sunday. I don’t dread that weekly task of coming to church. I love to come and worship. I know that I can come and seek God for answers, and that I’m not the answer, that I’m not the end-all. It’s nice not to have to rely on myself and not to have those worries…I can go to God, and take it, and He’ll take care of me…and He has.”
Q: How has Christ rebuilt your life?
“Well, He promised me about 15 years ago that He would give me the foundation in my life that I never had. I always knew something was missing, but I didn’t know what it was. He promised me one day, in my car, as I was having panic attacks and crying and not wanting to go back to work that day, He promised me that He would give me the life that I desired. And He has done that. It’s been a long journey, and it’s taken a lot of time on my part. He was always there, but I wasn’t always open to a life with Him, but once I did, the last seven years have just been wonderful. It doesn’t mean everything’s fallen into place and that it’s fantasy land and all those kinds of things, but what’s wonderful is God has said, ‘I will give you this,’ and He has followed through on every promise that He has given me.”
Q: What would you say to a newcomer?
“Please come. Even if you feel ashamed. Even if you feel fearful. Even if you’re worried that everybody in the world’s looking at you, if you feel God suggesting that you come to Celebrate Recovery, please come. And if someone asks you to come, please come with them…because I don’t know that I would have come on my own. I would have gotten the “hurts” part years ago, but I don’t know that I would have gotten the “habits” and “hang-ups” part before my recovery. But I just think that this is the most wonderful gift you could give to yourself, other than your relationship with God, is to deal with those issues that are impeding your life, whatever they may be, and to put God in the center of it through this program.”
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