Testimonies
I remember my sponsor always telling me, “If you like the results you are getting then keep on doing what you are doing”. Of course, most of the time, deep down, I was ashamed of my behavior and I really did want to change. It seemed the more I tried the more I kept messing up. I used to think, “why can’t I act like a Christian now that I have been working the principles of recovery in my life and growing in my relationship with Christ?” Early on in my relationship with Jesus I would beat myself up for making a mistake and listen to that voice in my head that kept saying “your’re” not good enough – see you messed up again. You need to try harder and work longer to earn your forgiveness”. Wow! I didn’t realize this was nothing but a lie from Satan until Godly men modeled and taught me about Spiritual Warfare from God’s Word. When I began incorporating God’s Word into each recovery step I started growing more like Christ beyond my imagination. I took each biblical truth literally (e.g. God has removed my sins as far as the east is from the west when I received the gift of Jesus Christ’s salvation) and took action as if it were true just like I did working the steps in my life to be free from alcohol. I simply realized “I can’t, but God never intended me to live the Christian life but He can and He always said He would…Thank You Heavenly Father”. Therefore, I continue to let God run the show today and when I mess up, admit my fault and ask for forgiveness and remember I am a Child of God today. He is not finished with me yet.
Sandy couldn’t understand why every time she would try to implement the action steps of all the self-help books on codependency or what the Pastor said on Sunday, the result was Mom steamrolling her once again. You see a typical conversation with Mom most often resulted in criticizing Sandy’s imperfect parenting styles. Sandy resented her Mother’s advice and it wasn’t that she didn’t need or want advice but it was the way her Mom tried to control the raising of Sandy’s kids. Each time Sandy tried to get the courage to speak to her Mom in a loving way about their relationship she would panic, become compliant and be like a child again. This continued until unhealthy anger emerged and the relationship was broken. Sandy’s struggle illustrates a basic need in recovering from codependency and establishing healthy boundaries. We were made to be in a relationship with God and through God with others. Recovering from habits and hang-ups takes a support Team to speak truth in love, to believe in us, encourage us, and build us up in God’s love with accountability. If you have discovered that trying to do it on your own does not work, then consider Celebrate Recovery to help you be God-reliant through the help of broken people and steps of faith.
This and many more stories of people becoming who God created them to be are typical within Celebrate Recovery. You may be struggling with some hurt, habit, or hang-up in your life and you are sick and tired of the same results you keep getting. You don’t have to keep living that way if you don’t want to anymore. You can find Christ’s healing power and discover the Victorious Life in Christ by simply taking some basics steps of faith found within the instruction manual for your life…Don’t stop before the miracle happens…you may have tried everything else but have you tried and finished Celebrate Recovery?