Healing from Hurts, Hang-ups & Habits

This post is part of our current Blog Series - focusing on Addiction! As you read these stories we invite you to share your thoughts, reflections and insights. This series will include stories on addiction, along with 8 articles from our most recent Messenger magazine. Our hope is that as we engage in conversation together, we can gain a deeper understanding in the midst of trials and celebrations of overcoming addiction.

Article 5 (of 8) in the Messenger magazine - Winter 2011 Edition! This article is adapted from an interview between Emily Towers, Residential Administrative Assistant, and our staff facilitators of Celebrate Recovery.

One of the deadliest elements of addiction is isolation; it is easier to maintain an addiction when no one else sees it. On the other hand, relationships allow us to air the hurt that we ignore through the addiction.

In the Women’s Transitional Program at the Water Street Mission, we use a twelve-step class called Celebrate Recovery to help clients who struggle with addiction. The course is also intended to be part of the after-care for women who have moved out of homelessness, by providing a place they can stay connected with current clients and staff.

The materials, provided through a grant from The Huston Foundation, are based on Biblical principles, like the Beatitudes, and focus on God’s freeing power. We recognize Jesus Christ as the one who creates true heart change and heals us from hurts, hang-ups or habits.

As we are building relationships in the class with our clients through the bond of similar struggles, the clients are building relationships with each other. For many of the women this is the first time they have shared their addictions with anyone. Ultimately, it is our relationships with others and God which allow us to authentically share our hearts and heal our wounds.

In recovery, when someone stops practicing one addictive behavior, they sometimes replace it with another, be it eating, reading inappropriate materials or co-dependency. These are unhealthy ways of coping that we also address in the class.

As a result of what they’re learning, we see ladies growing and developing in their walk with the Lord. One client shares, “I didn’t see a need for [the class], because I wasn’t addicted to drugs or alcohol. But I realized a month ago that I am addicted to pain medication. Knowing this, I saw the class in a whole new light.

“I saw that everything I read and discussed can be used for everyday life,” she continued. “It helped me to discover who I was. I learned I wasn’t alone. I was able to forgive myself as well as others. It also helped me understand God more clearly. With all this I am able to like myself. Because of this class, I am on the right path.”

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Previous Posts in this Series:
Fighting Addiction With the Armor of God
Fighting Addiction, and Experiencing God's Love
Dying to be FREE
She Walked In
Caught Between Egypt & the Promised Land
Quitting is the easy part!
Preventing Teen Drug Use
Realizing our addictions (remember... even Jesus was tempted)
Now That Was God
Access to Health & Hope

Stay tuned for the next post in this series on Addiction!