“God worked through all of the ugliness in my life to make something beautiful. Then he put a burning in my heart for the Brookhaven area after I visited numerous times and didn’t find Celebrate Recovery available. Instead of ‘Relapse Rhonda,’ they now call me ‘Help me Rhonda.’”

Rhonda Jacobs said these words to a group of locals dealing with “Hurts, habits and hang-ups,” during a one-year anniversary party for the newly established Celebrate Recovery program. Celebrate Recovery is similar to Alcoholics or Narcotics Anonymous, but the 12-step program is Christian-based and for people seeking recovery from any kind of addiction, not just alcohol or drugs.

Overeating, gambling, porn, control issues, anger, depression, obsessive, compulsive tendencies and other behaviors fall under the umbrella of “hurts, habits and hang-ups” people work through in CR. There are also those who are dealing with hurts not dealt with from the past, or current pain that is causing them grief.

CR is non-denominational and for all men and women over 18. The leadership is made of volunteers dealing with their own issues who act as sponsors and accountability partners to help guide each other. CR exists to give people tools to aid in individual recoveries. It meets at the Lincoln County Baptist Association where there is time for praise music, token ceremonies, a lesson or testimony, discussion tables and step studies.

“It doesn’t matter who you are, what you’ve done or where you’ve been, each ‘hurt, habit and hang-up’ are equally the same in recovery,” Jacobs said. “No one is better or worse than each other here.”

The CR program did exist in the area at one point but dissipated. However, it was revived last year in November when Jacobs started visiting the female inmates at the Lincoln County Jail.

“They didn’t really want to listen to me, they ignored me,” Jacobs said about the inmates. “When I gave them my testimony, and they heard some of the nitty gritty — because I’m a recovering drug addict myself, it’s been 30 years Aug. 18 — then they started listening. They heard some of the hardships I had also been through, and they could relate. They spoke. And by the next week, they were telling others to listen. It’s been really good.”

Then Jacobs worked. A year later, regular meetings serve those who need it. The one-year anniversary celebration, on Nov. 17, was a special occasion to mark success and growth in the program and had dozens in attendance.

“We use scripture and tools in the Bible to change our path not just get rid of one thing, because once you get rid of drugs and alcohol, then you find all the other issues in your life,” Jacobs said.

Based on the beatitudes in Matthew and their comparisons to the 12 steps, CR is a balanced and Biblical approach to recovery and Christ-like maturity. Jacobs said the Christian-based aspect of CR is what sets it apart and makes it especially helpful to transform lives to be simpler, more honest, meaningful, productive and easier.

“I’ve seen certain alcoholics or drug addicts quit drinking or quit drugging and not change another aspect of their life. They continue to sell drugs they continue to strong-arm people, continue to be thieves and liars and cheats and prostitutes and everything else, and they do it clean and sober. It’s a miserable life, and they know there’s a hole, and it’s usually a God-sized hole.”

Jacobs spoke about one woman, Becca, with whom she has worked over the past year. Becca shared her testimony during the anniversary party.

“I caught some felony charges in July of 2014,” Becca said. “I was sentenced to drug court in April this year; all the time I still didn’t believe I had a problem and kept on. I was sentenced to 30 days back in May. That was a major blessing in disguise.

“I gained clarity and started to trust in God and there I gained faith,” Becca continued. “I started attending anonymous meetings, CR was one of my best decisions. I noticed through drug court and CR meetings that my life was drastically changing. The urge to go use drugs started fading very quickly and I started treating others differently.”

These days, Becca and her husband are working together to have a different life. She is busy with kids and family — a story of recovery that inspires Jacobs to keep on. Jacobs said in the future she hopes to start an afternoon meeting and grow exponentially now that a core group has been trained to help lead the program. Jacobs also has long-term goals.

“As far as the future, we had things called Alamo Clubs in Detroit,” Jacobs said. “It’s a dry bar — no drugs, no alcohol, with pool tables and games. You could secure a deck of cards for games, with tons of tables to eat and hang out and twice a day they’d have a meeting.

“It’s going to take a lot, and then hiring people,” Jacobs said, noting it’s a long way off. “It’s a huge undertaking, but I’m certainly game. A place to let people hang out when they don’t know what to do with themselves, something to give people alternate things to do.”

Jacobs is available to speak to groups, organizations and churches. To set something up or for more information visit the Celebrate Recovery Brookhaven Facebook page, call Jacobs at 601-934-3280 or email celebrate@showmenow.net.

 

Editor’s note: Celebrate Recovery is an anonymous program. However, participants were aware that all information and testimony given during the anniversary event and for the purposes of this article may be made public. Participants welcomed this in an effort to bring their message to those who may benefit from it.