03/22/2025
Tonight, I am thankful for the evening we had at the café. A record number of people attended, with a total count of 27. These 27 people shared stories, encouraged each other, listened to each other's stories of past trauma and hardships and hurts from when we were young.
I love what was said in response to our discussion question, 'What would you say to your 10-year-old self if given the opportunity?' One guest answered with the simplest yet profound response. She said, 'If I could speak to my 10-year-old self, I would tell her this: 'WE MADE IT!'
That simple answer holds so much encouragement because, in spite of our struggles, addictions, choices, trauma, self-destruction, and selfishness, in spite of ourselves, somehow 'WE MADE IT!' How profound.
Addicts often share how their recovery journeys began, and in my experience and my circles, 99% of the time the answer is only by God. It's an amazing thought to know, and having experienced this, that God, even at in our darkest, in our lowest, in our most vulnerable states, GOD was there protecting us, teaching us, and setting us up to become addicts in active recovery. He often reaches us at our lowest point and sets us up in higher places. It's an incredible thing to know that more times than not, God takes the lowest, most broken, hopeless, rejected person and establishes them in positions that were never thought possible.
In scripture, we see that most of the individuals God used to bring the Gospel to those in need, used those people to demonstrate unshakable faith, used those people to radically change the world. I find it awesome that God still does this today. And He is still using the outcasts, the riffraff, the bottom-of-the-barrel individuals who experience radical change simply because God is great enough to make those people the very ones who can radically change the world.
There are things in our pasts that we are ashamed of, and rightfully so. But we find ourselves proud to be addicts in active recovery. Proud to serve those just like us. Proud to show what God did for us. And thankful to Him for giving us new hearts that burn with a holy fire, hearts that desire to show the source of our hope, and hearts to share this Good News, this Gospel to a lost and broken world that finds itself without hope, without purpose, without redemption.
God establishes us in places where doors will continually open, opportunities will continually present themselves, and we are given moments to show the only Light that will drive out the darkness. That Light being our Savior and our only hope. To show a salvation so impossible that after experiencing that Love, that restoration, that forgiveness, and that radical transformation, we will never be the same. We have been given new life, new hope, a new heart, a transformed mind, and a desire to share this incredible and unbelievable experience with anyone GOD puts in front of us.
We have been radically changed to do radical things. We have been given salvation not only for ourselves but also to reach those at the bottom and offer this radical Truth that total healing and restoration is only possible through Christ. And it's Christ, and only Christ, that can radically change us.
So, if I was able to speak with my 10-year-old self, I would encourage him to know that all of the pains and hurts and feelings of hopelessness, anxiety, and fear, troubles and trials, in all of those things, keep pressing on. Because it's these things that will bring you to a place that you can be proud of. A place of peace and contentment, joy and love, compassion and hope. A place where we can confidently and proudly say, 'WE MADE IT!'
Tonight, as I reflect on our meeting, I'm thankful for the café. Thankful to be in a place to serve. Thankful to make connections, to find fellowship, to make friendships, and thankful for the opportunity to minister to those in need. And thankful for all those who, in turn, minister to me.
The Recovery Café of Pulaski County is here to serve our community, to bring awareness to the issues that plague us, to offer education and insight on how to heal and how to cope in our struggles. It's here to be a safe space where we can be open and honest, vulnerable, and find encouragement and hope in our transparency. It exists to provide a place to make connections with people like us. It exists to teach us how to have peace in the midst of our struggles. And it exists to show us that Recovery is possible. The Cafè shows us that 'WE CAN MAKE IT!'
“Everyone is in recovery from something. Whether that's past traumas, grief and loss, substance misuse, or simply life's hardships, we all need recovery. We all need help. We all need hope.”
