Go ahead, ask me about my reading list…
No I am not an alcoholic, no I am not addicted to drugs, and no I am not a member of any groups for those who are addicted. However, I have my hang ups. I am addicted to food, I like to eat, matter of fact I love to eat. You could say that I am definitely an addict in that area.
Some of you now are saying, well that’s not that big of a deal. Food never hurt anyone when in reality it hurts a lot of people. As long as I can remember I have had to fight the urge to eat more than I need and especially eating foods that are just not good for me. So yes I am an addict and we all have an “IT.”
Your “IT” may not be the same as mine but you have one. We all do, we all have in common that we are all addicted to something that in some way, shape, or form, we have to learn to manage and deal with. Another sad thing we have in common is that most of us will never talk about our “IT.” We are great at hiding things that we think others will look down on us for. We are ashamed or we are afraid of making our family look bad. So many reasons we hide behind certain things and keep the real us hidden.
When in fact, the greatest, the wisest, the bravest thing one can do when addicted is to reach out and ask for help.
That is why you see the above picture now set as my background picture on Facebook. It is to bring awareness to people that there is someone that cares. Not just me but a whole lot of people who go to a place called Out of the Box. This group of people has a dream and a vision to reach out to the people of Carroll, Grayson, Galax, and beyond with the message that we care and we want to help.
We have done the work of securing funding for the first year to have a Recovery Ministry. It will be called “Recovery at _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .”
The name is still a work in progress because it is a community ministry and we want it to be obvious.
We are inviting the community to pitch in. There are many needs in a ministry of Recovery, such as providing and serving meals to all who come. Leading small groups for those who are addicted, and this entails a long list of specific areas. Providing childcare for the ones who come with children. By the way, our church has strict guidelines for anyone who works with children. Background checks have to be submitted to and training that is provided by our staff and volunteers must be completed. This is to assure that your children are safe and in good hands.
There are many areas to be involved, give me a call, fb message, or an email to let me know you would like to help. By the way, you do not have to be a member of Out of the Box to be part of this ministry.
Finally, we hope to launch the ministry either late this year or very early in 2015, the exact launch date for weekly services is not yet set. We are busy in the between time getting space and people ready for what we believe is one of the greatest needs in our community. Let us know now that you would like to help, there is a lot to do.
We started last night meeting as a group of volunteers who will with the help of God, make this ministry work. You can join us this coming week on Wednesday night at 7pm in Downtown Hillsville at Out of the Box. Come to let us know you want to get involved or just to see what it is all about.
Ronnie