As a parent, you did your best to teach your child right from wrong. You’ve brought them up in church. You did your best to monitor their friends and activities. Yet, your child was somehow introduced to drugs or alcohol. Now, you face helping your child beat substance abuse. Your faith is essential in not only getting your child through a Christian rehab program in South Florida, but it is also a source of strength for you as a parent. Below are some important things to remember as your child works toward sobriety.
Faith Assures Us That We Are Never Alone
Romans 8:28 (NIV) assures us that “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” While you may not feel that anything good can come out of your present situation, God assures us that all things work toward a positive purpose. The decision to help your loved one through a Christian based rehab facility such as ours here in Florida can be the first step.
First, your child is working toward sobriety, which is always a good thing. Perhaps God is using this situation to make your family closer, to strengthen your testimony, or “growing” your child as a person and a Christian. God also assures us that we are never alone, not even in the worst situations. 2 Timothy 4:17 tells us “The Lord stood at my side and gave me strength.” Allow God to give you strength as you go through this valley in life. Enlist your friends and church family in praying for your situation. You might also seek some counseling with your pastor. Being able to speak to someone confidentially who is also a Christian can help strengthen you as you help your child through this situation. Remember the “Footprints” poem – when there was one set of footprints, it was then that the Lord carried His child.
Filling an Emptiness
One principle of Christian-based treatment philosophy is an attempt to fill an emptiness that nearly every addict or alcoholic has experienced. The empty feelings could be because of a number of reasons. There is frequently an unexplainable inability to stay away from drugs or alcohol because getting high fictionally fills this void.
The baffling sense of powerlessness to avoid mind-altering solutions to these feelings stems from something that is missing. By providing a source of internal strength to rely on when these urges become overwhelming, is an important part of recovery.
While a Christian treatment center will not insist that you blindly accept a particular spiritual belief, they suggest strongly that you search for a power greater yourself. It is this source of strength that it is believed addicts and alcoholics can find the power to recover.
Without such a source, addicts and alcoholics are left to their own devices. Eventually, they are prone to relapse. A Christian treatment facility will try to help you discover this source. They will not insist that you believe one way or another.
However, you will be offered suggestions that could become keys to help change how you experience God. It is through three personality changes that many agnostic or non-believers were able to develop this source and live clean and sober lives.
Come to Believe
Three important keys to successful recovery are honesty, open-mindedness, and willingness. Those with longtime sobriety call it the HOW of their program. Each piece gradually fits together to help you find this source of power you can rely on when tempted.
The willingness and open-mindedness to consider other viewpoints and ideologies without contempt is essential. People in recovery from all walks of life have insisted that to ignore the wisdom and insight of religious and professional experts is akin to stubbornness. Once you open yourself to the possibility that there might be a different perspective to deal with your drug or alcohol problem, you be amazed at the results.
It is at this point in their recovery that many mentions coming to believe in something greater than themselves.
The ultimate result of an open mind was that they gave themselves a chance at recovery. That is what every treatment center strives to do. They want to give you the best chance at recovering from drug addiction or alcoholism that they can.
If you sit with most devout followers of any religious faith, they will most likely insist that God of any divinity does not do for us what we can do for ourselves. They do not insist that God is somehow a hands-off type of business executive, but we must do the work to stay clean and sober.
Christian rehabs offer a God-based recovery solution that is open to all faiths, even people without any belief at all. Since most recovery philosophies rely on you discovering some type of power beyond yourself, you would be correct to assume that a Christian rehab such on the one we have here in Florida will rely on a God.
The concept of that God will be yours to discover as you understand it to be. If you feel you have a problem with drugs or alcohol, your spiritual beliefs are secondary. Getting help is a priority. The first step to a new and exciting life is to ask for help.
Common Misconceptions About Christian Drug Rehab
Many people do not realize that many Christian drug rehab programs, especially in Florida provide effective detox therapy, just like secular rehab programs. Detox is an important step on the journey to sobriety regardless of whether a program is faith-based or secular. Many programs offer detox and rehab. Often, clients first complete detox and then enter a Christian track rehab program. In other instances, a client completes a detox-only program and then enters a faith-based rehab program.
The detox process lasts from several days to several weeks, depending on the type of drug and the severity of the addiction. During this time, patients may be prescribed non-addictive drugs that reduce withdrawal symptoms. For example, patients experiencing opiate withdrawal may need medications to avoid becoming severely sick, and severe alcoholics may need medication to control anxiety and spikes in blood pressure. Medically-supervised detox provides a method for clients to adjust to the absence of drugs safely and comfortably before entering a rehab program.
Many people also do not realize that Christian rehab is one of many faith-based rehab options. Many rehab programs cater to individuals of the Jewish, Muslim, and other faiths. Just like Christian rehab, clients of other faith-based programs find their path to sobriety in religion.
Learn to Let Go
This will be the toughest part of your journey. You must accept that your child’s situation is a result of his or her choices. Nothing you did or didn’t do could have changed the present situation. You must not blame yourself or second guess your parenting. The most important thing to do is to be there for your child. Be accepting and welcome your child with open arms at all times. Remember, God has also dealt with prodigal children Himself. There is no better source of comfort than His presence at this time. However, you and your child cannot move forward if you hold on to hurt and blame yourself for your child’s situation.
Find Support
Again, your pastor is a great source of support at this time. Being able to pray with your pastor as he counsels you is a great source of comfort for many parents. He may also be able to suggest a group of Christian parents who are in a similar situation. If so, joining a group that provides support and understanding for your situation will also give you the strength to make it through this trying time.
Finally, do not let your own health go while you walk through this journey. It is important for you to take care of yourself, find adequate support with parents in a similar situation. Lean on your pastor for Christian counseling and ground yourself in God’s word regarding trials in life. You and your child will be able to look back and look at this situation as a positive one day.
As your journey of sobriety evolves, you’ll grow to appreciate how God works in a variety of ways. Christian-based or otherwise, each relies on some concept of a Higher Power. What you choose to be your Higher Power is up to you. Call us today at our Florida based Christian rehab facility. 844-903-2111.
