Celebrate Recovery - Take Two

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What on earth am I here for?

My first steps in CR

My first attendance Celebrate Recovery nearly 12 years ago was a real eye opener to what my life was like and where it could go.  I walked in with the thought, "What on earth am I here for?" and left with a "Purpose Driven Life" - quite literally. I'll explain the details of that life changing evening later.

As I would tell my story about God's call on my life, I explained it with references to my daily routine - "hitting the snooze button over and over again".  I'm sure I am not the only one who has done that! But for 6 years, I learned to wake up - sometimes before that first buzzer - and ready myself for the awesome things God had in store for me!

Pride comes before a fall

At some point, though, that alarm didn't seem to wake me up. I got up, waiting for it to go off, but it remained silent. Day by day went by and although I maintained some of the disciplines that I had learned, I had no longer been surrounded by those who understood a Christ-centered recovery life.  That's right! I thought I had outgrown the need for the fellowship and growth of Celebrate Recovery and got drowned by the waves of both world and religion.

After a while, I fell back into some old behaviors. I justified that I was doing okay - much better than before starting this journey, but there was an emptiness - a lack of clear purpose in my life. I tried things that I had never done before to fill that void, but nothing would satisfy. 

Celebrate Recovery - Take Two

My struggle is not with alcohol or drugs, so it is a bit harder to recognize a relapse. My biggest struggle is with depression - which I felt I had overcome. But without being in an environment that would lead me out of these paralyzing negative feelings I began getting frustrated with others and myself who had no idea how to return me back to my purpose driven self again.

Then, about a month ago, I ran into a friend at Walmart. I don't think we had ever talked about Celebrate Recovery before, but it seemed at the right time (and totally out of the blue) she invited me to joint their Friday night meeting.

I bet you can guess what happened. I hit the snooze button again, but just for the first week. I did go the next week and I couldn't remember why I stopped going. Of course, then I made excuses the next week why I shouldn't go.  

Last night was the second night of my "take two" journey and I figured I needed a daily devotion purpose to keep me focussed on making those meetings.  So, I decided to blog about it!

About the header image

The header image may seem like a parody on the man/woman in a field that those familiar with Celebrate Recovery would recognize, but "parody" is not the intent. At this point, my burdens are heavier than my arms can lift them, and I am returning to that recognizable field - hoping beyond hope, believing beyond belief that Christ will take me back to the path of recovery.

Disclaimer

I want to make sure that it was clear that I am not a representative of Celebrate Recovery, PurposeDriven ministries, SaddleBack church, or any other related organization.  Any unauthorized use of those materials is unintentional.  See the About Celebrate Recovery Again page for more details.
Location: Palm Coast, FL 32164, USA

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