Celebrate Recovery

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In late March I left my husband of 12 years.  It had been an abusive relationship, on many levels.  I have a daughter, age 9,  whose relationship with her father had also been abusive.  I don’t want to dwell on the details, because I quickly appreciated through this group that concentrating on the positive gifts and talents that God has given you gets you so much, emotionally, spiritually, and even physically. 

Some of the first discussion centered on how hurts, habits, and hang-ups affect you.  This was certainly the case for me as before, I had suffered from tremendous migraines, and almost immediately they were gone.  As I surrendered and admitted I was powerless to my problems, God took control of my mind, body, and spirit.  I found myself with a new strength, and I became a person that could handle just about anything that was thrown my way.  I now had God, and a spiritual support network.

As time went by, I continued to grow, with the help of everyone in our group.  I began to understand co-dependency, and why I would do some of the things I would, as well as why I put up with what I did.  With Jeff’s Chemical Dependency focus, I also began to understand why my husband did some of the things he did.  I did my spiritual inventory.  This took some time, but I wanted to really work it.  I wanted to get everything out.  Then it came time to share it with my sponsor  At first, I was definitely nervous, but she put me at such ease.  I made a friend, a close friend, that seems to understand me and where I have come from.  She was not judgmental, but open, honest, and caring.  I no longer felt like I had to shoulder everything on my own, and I began to trust someone, which I hadn’t done in many years.

Through this process, I began to feel so strong.  Sure, at times I was scared, but the more I shared and turned it over, the more I began to trust and have faith.  My strength allowed me to apply for a job transfer in my company, which you all probably know I got.

Everything I have gone through has still been difficult, and at times would make me mad.  But one of the main differences I notice is that I don’t sweat the small stuff, and the big stuff may upset or anger me, but I get over it so fast now.  I just remember that I am loved and I know I am a person worth loving and that I too know how to love.  I tell my daughter that the heart was made for love, not hate, and there is no room in my heart for hate.  I would rather use it for love.

I do get lonely a little, but I remember that before Celebrate Recovery and Spring Hills, I was much more lonely- God was not the center.

I want to say Thank You, to each and every one of you.  You were there when I needed you most.  Leaders, you guided me through hopefully the most difficult time of my life and helped me to stay on the right path.  I think you all did it without knowing what you were doing, as I am not the most outspoken person.  So, in particular, I want to recall a few quotes that you made or when you quoted someone else, that whether you knew it or not gave me a boost, gave me insight, or just made me feel like everything would be OK.

*Courage is not the absence of fear, it is the conquering of it.

*If you shut off the hurt, you shut off joy.

*Our secrets keep us sick.

*God uses setbacks in our lives to move us forward.

*The “you” messages we hear as a child become the “I” messages we believe as adults.

*As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.

*Revealing the feeling is the first step to healing.

*Time heals NO wounds, God heals ALL wounds.

*Gods process of a man reaping what he sows is the process of changing a man’s heart.

*If God doesn’t use the pain of you having to go through the consequences of your actions, he certainly won’t use another person to try to fix them.

*Guilt is when we are angry at ourselves.

*If you bury it, you carry it.

*Anger and unforgiveness are the same thing.

*Only trust that which proves to be trustworthy, but always forgive.

*What makes us feel good now may make us feel bad later.

*One of the evidence of Christ being in control is self-control.

Thanks be to God, thanks be to all of you.  I will pray for each of you, that you may find the strength, the peace, and the love which I have found through this process.  Invest your time, spirit, and soul in this.  Believe me, it is worth it.

Take care, and have a wonderful season.

C.C.                

For more information please contact Spring Hills Baptist Church at 740-587-1200 and ask for Pastor Jeff Houghton or you can email Pastor Jeff at jeffh@springhillsbaptist.org