My Awesome Friend, Who Was Awesomely Miss-Informed

My friend did reluctantly agree to enter the church with the steeple and receive baptism. It was the last time we ever baptized in a church; today, we head down to the river. I learned from my friend that sustained sobriety serves as a kind of holding tank for folks as God gently, ever so slowly, heals them. Over time, the shame that clung to her sloughed off. Today, she attends a “regular” church and is a vital part of their congregation. Her fear of God and steeples has dissipated as her time in recovery has lengthened and the lessons learned have become more true and real for her.

Recovery is rarely an instantaneous moment of glorious clarity (although it happens); mostly, it is faithfully putting in the time, doing the work, showing up and waiting as God does his part.

“The good news is, this is the hardest part, and every hour, every day, every week the process will get easier, more or less, if you stay the course and take toward this new life that you don’t want and can’t yet imagine, a life that will someday seem so much more valuable and hard-won than the life that came before.”

Stienberg and Bader, Out of the Wreck I Rise

Hold on just a minute. And then two. Breathe.