Love in Action

I’m not saying this is the right frame of mind, nor is it always the case, but sometimes in ministry we can look at the kids’ area as a “childcare” area so that mom and dad can work on their struggles in life.

In Celebrate Recovery our place for the kids to go is called Celebration Place, and for students, it’s The Landing. What I love is that it’s not just a place to keep kids occupied during the adult services, but instead a place for kids and teenagers to work on their own lives. We like to call these ministries “Pre-covery.”

The wonderful story below was written by a dad in Celebrate Recovery and shows how impactful this ministry is not just for the adults but for the whole family. It will bless your heart.

Raising young kids is hard — especially when one has a severe ADHD diagnosis.  He has some severe behavioral patterns that escalate quickly, and often the cool-down process takes a while. Sometimes, like in many households, bedtime is an absolute war zone. It’s like they’ve forgotten that we just did this 24 hours ago.

When my oldest has hard days at school or at home, it usually carries over into bedtime and makes it exponentially more difficult. So tonight when it was time for the bedtime routine, it was interrupted by an outburst. This was the biggest outburst we’ve seen in quite some, and it was accompanied by some disciplinary action.

The cool-down process, surprisingly, did not take very long. In the process of cooling down and trying to get him back in a good mood, I joked about how my feet were stinky (which was the case; I’d been working all day). I thought he would just be 6-year-old-grossed-out, but instead, he said. “I have an idea. I want to do for daddy what Ms. Melanie did for me at nighttime church.”

He then started the process of getting a washcloth, a small towel, and a bowl of water. You see, a couple of weeks ago, at Celebration Place, the kids learned the story of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet. Their feet were disgusting, and the King of kings humbled himself as a servant for his friends.

I cried. My wife cried. His little heart showed through all of the hardships he endures on a daily basis. God revealed how he doesn’t make mistakes in his creation. He showed me that, despite the flaws and inadequacy I feel as a parent, God already had a plan for my kids.

I’m so indebted to Celebration Place and the work they’re doing with our kids. I know my kids are tough on them (it’s no different than at home). But they love them unconditionally, and the smallest gestures in teaching a story reach into their souls.

My oldest may not have fully understood what took place tonight. But I did. God used him as a servant to my heart. And this is a night that will rest in my heart for a very long time.

Thank God for our Celebration Place leaders. We are so grateful for our leaders leading our kids worldwide.

Thanks for leading well, leaders! It’s messy but worth it!