Most Recent Blog Post:
It’s Friday morning, 8AM. My cell phone is ringing. My mind races.....what could this be, waking me up this morning? Did something go wrong at the house? Did I miss a payment somewhere? An appointment? No, it’s worse: There’s a crying woman on the other end of the lne. Her sister is an opiate addict, and she asks me if we can “fix her.” I instinctively chuckle inside, silently and wish to myself that it was that easy. I’ve worked in environments that I could do that: add memory, configure softwre, adjust user accounts. Fix things. In recovery, we don’t get to fix....we get to guide. And hope.
I tell the woman who’s sister is destroying her life and everyone’s around her that sadly, I have no place for her, wish her the best and hang up. Staring at the ceiling, the familiar pangs of guilt wrack my body. Why can’t I fix her? What can I do? Recovery Resources? Pine Street? Yes! I call her back, and give her Recovery Resources information: This is a success. I have provided hope where there was none, and I smile softly to myself. I didn’t really do anything, other than share information, but this information itself, is cause for hope. The woman wept tears of joy when we hung up. I genuinely feel good about myself...good enough to get the day started, though I’m on about 3 hours of sleep.
Coffee up, off to the sober house. I take inventory, and am thoroughly unimpressed with the condition of the house: an unmade bed, coffee cups left out. Not bad, but below my standards. I make a mental note to address this sooner rather than later, as we’re expecting visitors of the state variety.
I sit down with the leftover coffee.....time to call the residential centers. It goes well, I suppose. Springwood likes what I have to say, and Sober By Grace is officially added to their referral list. Silent smile, small victory. #2 for the day, but not as satisfying as the young woman this morning. I take a break, and delve into FaceBook. Mafia Wars calls me, my only vice these days. I chat with a few old friends, answer email....I am human for a few minutes, until the familiar email pops up: “Need Help!”
Uh oh....I know this person, and wonder why they are sending this to me.....what’s going wrong? Within minutes my lunch date with my wife is cancelled, and I’m off to the church. There’s an alcoholic there that spent the night in his truck. (In this heat, I think to myself....wow) I call my sponsor, my Celebrate Recovery pastor, and a member of Sober By Grace’s board. I ask for prayer, and acknowledge that I shouldn’t be 12th stepping without another alcoholic, but it’s ok: I’m going to a church, after all.
I arrive, and am debriefed by the church staff, and two associate pastors. I don’t know what I’m going to say this guy. I do know he sounds more broken than most others. I walk in the sanctuary, and it begins. He doesn’t listen. He explains to me that he’s the worst drunk of all time, I tell him I’ve seen worse. He calls me an a-hole, I agree. I avoid you statements, and focus on I statements. I suggest prayer, he agrees. One of the pastors leads us all in prayer, and there we are: The pastors, the recovered drunk, and the alcoholic, all on the sanctuary floor praying. Hands and knees, the whole 9 yards. I chuckle internally as I remember my blank day planner, my plans to surprise my wife with a lunch date, and a bumper sticker that read “if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.” I am confident that my new friend will go to detox, and he does. Major victory. Third of the day: It is a BANNER day! God is good!
I get home, and as I slip my shoes off, the phone rings. My new friend has left JPS Against Medical Advice, and needs a ride. It’s 104 degrees, and it’s 5 oclcok...and my SUVs AC has konked out: But I did promise him I’d be there, so off I go. Back to the church we go. I suspect my night of Celebrate Recovery is probablly scrubbed, and later I’m proven correct. I talk my new friend into rehab, and end up calling his ex, begging her to house him through the weekend: She agrees! It’s a wrap, at 8 oclock.
I go to the sober house, to take one of our resident’s out for coffee. In the midst of our meal, my phone rings. It’s 11 o’clock, and someone in Denton needs a ride to safety. I agree, and thank God for the opportunity to help him. I pay for my meal, and leave, into the warm summer night: A late night round trip to Denton.
This is what I do. I am, after all, Sober By Grace, and I accept these tasks, this calling, willingly, and cheerfully.
God bless, and thank for listening,
Bryce Hudnall
Director of Operations
Sober By Grace: Where New Beginnings Start
bryce@soberbygrace.org
See My Blog!
Views: 127