On April 6th we celebrated our 2nd birthday with cake and ice cream. We had a great crowd and a great spirit of celebration. Celebrate Recovery is a place where we celebrate victories, not defeats. We talk about our defeats because there is healing in sharing. Karol Truman said, “feelings buried alive never die.” We share our defeats and celebrate what God has done with our defeats. John Baker said, “God never wastes a hurt.” No matter what your hurt, God can use your it to help someone else heal.
In our large group, we have a testimony one week and a lesson the next. Last week we heard about victories over alcohol and gambling. One week we heard about victories over sexual abuse and sexual addiction. Most of our hurts come out of needs that were never met in our childhood. Dysfunctional parents raise dysfunctional children. The lady above was raised by a mother who lived a prostitute lifestyle and she learned to act out with men starting around age 12. My bout with alcohol started when my dad taught me how to drink and make home brew at age 6.
Many will say that they don’t have those problems, but what about issues like anger, bitterness, over eating, depression, trust, low self-esteem, fear of rejection, fear of failure, abandonment, guilt and shame, love and affection.
In CR we call these issues hurts, habits and hang-ups. Maybe you need Celebrate Recovery.
Tom Melton is a member of Midway Baptist Church, and leads their Celebrate Recovery Program.
The HeartBeat