Celebrate Recovery Part I

I was first introduced to recovery programs going to Al-anon with my mom in high school.  I went because it was a good support group for her, but didn’t get very much out of it.  There wasn’t really anything I needed to recover from at the time and I couldn’t see how my sister’s addictions affected me. 
It wasn’t until 2008 that I heard of this program called “Celebrate Recovery”.  It sounded better than AA or NA, which never seemed to work for my sister.  I was living in the Dallas/Fort Worth area waiting to go to boot camp for the Coast Guard, it was a great time to reorganize life.  I had been sober from alcohol for over 6 months but definitely still recovering (I still am, if not from alcohol than from something else on the long list of my imperfections).  It was at The Village Church in Highland Village Tx, which I was attending at the time, so I decided to check it out with my best friend.  (If you are ever in the area visit The Village church it is great or download the podcasts.  Mat Chandler is a gifted pastor!)
 
The first night there I was blown away!  It was exactly what I pictured church was supposed to be.  We sang great worship songs and a testimony was given on a life that had been destroyed by the world and then renewed by God’s grace and the love of Jesus Christ.  In the small groups men shared their struggles and were honest about being broken.  I only got to go for about a month before heading off to boot camp but I knew I’d be a part of it again someday.
 
In January I moved to Anchorage and our church started up a Celebrate Recovery program in March, thank you God for your timing and thank you Alliance Christian Fellowship for starting it up.  I joined in to be on the leadership team, I loved the idea of getting to help others with their hurts, habits, and hang-ups.
It has been an amazing experience!  As always, what started as me wanting to help others has become one of the biggest blessings in my own life.  As I have worked the 12 steps/8 principles for myself I have gained freedom.  Even though I had worked through my issues with alcohol in the past my recovery from it is even more complete and I’ve been able to work on other issues such as lust and just selfishness in general.  I am not through the entire program and will probably always be recovering from some type of bondage that satan tries to put on me, but there is growth and accountability daily.  It isn’t easy admitting areas where you fall short to people you know but once you do it is freeing and then God can really start working.  Plus, it shows others that they aren’t alone in their struggles.  Celebrate Recovery is definitely one of the top five things I will miss being away next year, along with my small group(s).