Mary & I were on our way home from OK City after sharing our testimony and casting the vision that recovery is in fact for everybody, when we were stopped dead in our tracks at one of those times in life when all you can say is, “WOW!”

We were getting off the plane in Dallas and as we entered the terminal all we could hear & see were hundreds of people standing around our gate clapping and cheering. Now this can be pretty intimidating when it seems that you may be the focal point of the crowd but it didn’t take us long to see that they were looking, not at us, but right above us. So we turned around and looked to a walkway right above our heads and saw it filled with hundreds of soldiers walking double file dressed in camo who had just returned from overseas fighting for our freedom.

Mary & I immediately knew that the connecting flight we were hurrying to catch suddenly took back seat to what was happening right before us. We were now part of the cheering crowd that was the Welcome Committee for our soldiers returning home. As we watched the seemingly endless line, the clapping and cheering never let up. Tears filled our eyes and we were not alone to see these committed men and women coming home.

So what does this have to do with Celebrate Recovery? I thought about first of all, the commitment that we make to be CR leaders and servant volunteers is much like the men and women we saw. Training for our roles, as well as theirs, is essential in accomplishing our goal of helping people find their way home. At Memorial Road Church of Christ CR, they gave us one of their t-shirts & on the front is a CR logo. But what touched me most is what it says on the back written on a cross, “Welcome Home”.

As Assimilation Coaches, our chief responsibility is getting the word out about CR so we can welcome others home. The sight of all those military men and women walking in front of us as we cheered will be one that will not leave my memory for some time. At the same time, watching those last Friday night at the Chip Ceremony coming back and receiving their recovery chip is also a sight that will stay with me because I knew some of these had finally come home.

Just like the troops that came home, we too, are in battle. The biggest difference is I read the end of the book (Bible) and we win! This doesn’t mean we won’t have to fight. It just means our outcome is already secure as long as we keep our eyes on our Commander in Chief, Jesus Christ.

Now the question is, “Are we going to be the Welcome Committee for those with hurts, hang-ups, & habits to proclaim freedom for the captives in Jesus name through CR?!


Mac
mowen@wfrchurch.org