I know many of you have experienced graduation in the last few weeks. You know someone who graduated college or high school. Just send them cash! And even today we have 8th grade graduations to high school, these kids are registered at Circuit City, and 5th grade graduations to middle school, get them a Y membership and kindergarten graduations to 1st grade, they’re registered at Toys R Us. Our church even had a pre-school graduation to kindergarten. They were registered at Wal-Mart. Hey, I’m from Shelby, what can I say.
But I had the distinct honor and privilege to attend a friend’s graduation from Rehab. Most graduations have the graduate stroll across the stage, grab a diploma, shake a hand and turn a tassel. This graduation from a program called Teen Challenge (it is for adults too) had the graduate stroll across the stage to a microphone and tell how they had hit rock bottom. 22 of the most heart wrenching and emotional stories you can ever imagine. Mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, and even friends often stood beside them on stage and also shared the affects on the family, but also their immense pride in the grad’s accomplishment, and their complete thankfulness for God for restoring the graduate.
Just a few random thoughts about what stood out during these life stories.
* Experimentation often started at 13 and 14
* Drinking and smoking led to marijuana use, which lead to harder drugs. Marijuana is a gateway drug
* These people grew up in the church and were members of the youth group and choir. They had scholarships for academics and athletics
* Addiction crosses all economic levels
* These addictive lives crippled families. Financially destroying parents and emotionally scarring everyone around the addict
* The detachment and downward spirals of these people lasted 10 plus years! Think about that, 10 years of drug use, in and out of jails, in and out of rehabs.
* Methamphetamine is a BAD BAD drug!
* There is only one true way out of the addictive control of drugs and alcohol – GOD
Teen Challenge is a faith based rehab program that most people attend because they are court ordered. My friend graduated from the Minnesota Teen Challenge. There are hundreds of Teen Challenge Programs around the country. It is a 13 month, very strict program. Most of the graduates actually were in longer than 13 months. It seems that they spend the first 6 to 7 months fighting it and then the last 6 months trying to put it all back into focus. Teen Challenge notes that it has a 90% success rate meaning that only 10% of their graduates have a relapse. A comparison is AA has only a 10% success rate. Could that be a God thing?
My wish is that every 13 or 14 year old could sit and listen to these stories. This kind of “scared straight” would be powerful. As a parent, watching fathers stand on stage and just quake because their emotions are so strong that they cannot speak had my head about to explode. Listening to these men and having them look into the audience of their children and apologize would stir the emotions of even the most stoic person. Witnessing these ladies share how they have destroyed their relationships with parents and siblings left me at times heartbroken. But the joy in their transformation always “restoreth” my soul.
At the end of the day I stood around with this family as their daughter, the graduate, went around the room and thanked everyone; her parents, her brother, aunts and uncles, family friends, cousins, great uncles and aunts, and me. These people drove hours for this girl to share with her graduation. Their lives affected during the last 15 years too. I am sure thankful they were blessed and lucky enough that it wasn’t their kid. I am sure thankful and blessed that their 15 years of prayers continue to be answered. I am sure thankful that they were blessed by God and their faith strengthened by the power of what was witnessed.
This was a great graduation. If you want to get her a gift you can go online and talk to God, She is registered in Heaven!
But I had the distinct honor and privilege to attend a friend’s graduation from Rehab. Most graduations have the graduate stroll across the stage, grab a diploma, shake a hand and turn a tassel. This graduation from a program called Teen Challenge (it is for adults too) had the graduate stroll across the stage to a microphone and tell how they had hit rock bottom. 22 of the most heart wrenching and emotional stories you can ever imagine. Mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, and even friends often stood beside them on stage and also shared the affects on the family, but also their immense pride in the grad’s accomplishment, and their complete thankfulness for God for restoring the graduate.
Just a few random thoughts about what stood out during these life stories.
* Experimentation often started at 13 and 14
* Drinking and smoking led to marijuana use, which lead to harder drugs. Marijuana is a gateway drug
* These people grew up in the church and were members of the youth group and choir. They had scholarships for academics and athletics
* Addiction crosses all economic levels
* These addictive lives crippled families. Financially destroying parents and emotionally scarring everyone around the addict
* The detachment and downward spirals of these people lasted 10 plus years! Think about that, 10 years of drug use, in and out of jails, in and out of rehabs.
* Methamphetamine is a BAD BAD drug!
* There is only one true way out of the addictive control of drugs and alcohol – GOD
Teen Challenge is a faith based rehab program that most people attend because they are court ordered. My friend graduated from the Minnesota Teen Challenge. There are hundreds of Teen Challenge Programs around the country. It is a 13 month, very strict program. Most of the graduates actually were in longer than 13 months. It seems that they spend the first 6 to 7 months fighting it and then the last 6 months trying to put it all back into focus. Teen Challenge notes that it has a 90% success rate meaning that only 10% of their graduates have a relapse. A comparison is AA has only a 10% success rate. Could that be a God thing?
My wish is that every 13 or 14 year old could sit and listen to these stories. This kind of “scared straight” would be powerful. As a parent, watching fathers stand on stage and just quake because their emotions are so strong that they cannot speak had my head about to explode. Listening to these men and having them look into the audience of their children and apologize would stir the emotions of even the most stoic person. Witnessing these ladies share how they have destroyed their relationships with parents and siblings left me at times heartbroken. But the joy in their transformation always “restoreth” my soul.
At the end of the day I stood around with this family as their daughter, the graduate, went around the room and thanked everyone; her parents, her brother, aunts and uncles, family friends, cousins, great uncles and aunts, and me. These people drove hours for this girl to share with her graduation. Their lives affected during the last 15 years too. I am sure thankful they were blessed and lucky enough that it wasn’t their kid. I am sure thankful and blessed that their 15 years of prayers continue to be answered. I am sure thankful that they were blessed by God and their faith strengthened by the power of what was witnessed.
This was a great graduation. If you want to get her a gift you can go online and talk to God, She is registered in Heaven!
2 comments:
Hi Cam!
Thanks for sharing our experience in the Twin Cities. I know how hard this journey was for the graduate, but I am so thankful to have shared it with her. As the graduate's life was changing, I think she changed all of us through her courage and strength. Blessings brother! Pam in Iowa
Blake read this and, fortunately, did not feel there were too many friends of his "experimenting"-yet!! Definitely a learning moment for both of us for the near future. Thanks for sharing this experience.
Rosemary
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