Evans’ lives change as they walk through a door

BY Pat Van Dyke

Larry Evans leads a Celebrate Recovery meeting. Photo by Pat Van Dyke

Every Sunday evening, without fail, the doors of Canyon Lake Community Church’s Fellowship Hall are opened to greet those who are looking for a safe place in which to find relief for their hurts, hang-ups, or habits.

The people walking through those doors for the first time are not necessarily members of the church, nor are they regular attendees. They are people looking for answers for a life that has gone out-of-control.

When one realizes that his or her life has reached a level in which they have no answers or direction on which to base their actions, it brings a person to make one of two choices: either to continue in the downward spiral that has become their normal or look for help to establish a new normal, a life that is centered on the release of those factors which are dragging them down rather than lifting them up.

For the past 12 years, CLCC has provided a safe place in which one can address their destructive or compulsive behaviors, unhealthy relationships, addictions (drugs, alcohol, food and pornography), anger, shame, codependency (addiction to people and control), past abuse and so much more. The program is called Celebrate Recovery.

On Sunday evening, January 1, 2012, Canyon Lake resident Larry Evans walked through the doors for the first time. It was during the morning service of that same day that Larry first heard about Celebrate Recovery. He knew he needed help.

Larry shares how despondent he was on that day. “I was completely alone, lost, angry and felt hopeless. I was still hungover from two days of binge drinking and angry about my outbursts to my wife and two daughters.”

But on that evening, Larry found hope. “The moment I walked in the doors of Celebrate Recovery I felt the hope that I needed. I learned that I was not alone and that I could not recover on my own,” Larry said.

The next few months, Larry worked the Celebrate Recovery program by joining a study group in which he learned how to confront his hurts, hang-ups and habits. He faced the fact that he was an alcoholic who struggled with anger and sexual integrity.

Larry’s wife, Michelle, also found help through Celebrate Recovery. As Michelle watched Larry’s life change, she realized that she also needed to face her hurts and hang-ups. Through self-evaluation, Michelle determined that she suffered from anxiety and co-dependency.

In Celebrate Recovery, participants discover how best to deal with their hurts, how a person feels when he is emotionally injured by others or choices that they have made themselves; hang-ups, any negative mental attitudes that are used to cope with people or an adversity; and habits, something that a person feels that they have no control.

Larry and Michelle have taken on leadership roles in Celebrate Recovery. They both serve on the Leadership Board and have accepted the position of encourager. They both encourage others by not only showing others the way of recovery, but also by walking the journey with them.

Both Larry and Michelle agree that Celebrate Recovery saved their marriage and their family. “I have learned that I am not alone but have a forever family of fellow followers of Jesus Christ who walk beside me, supporting me and keeping me accountable,” Larry said.

Michelle agrees, “I know that I am not alone. I have my Celebrate Recovery family always there to support me. I have learned to set healthy boundaries for myself and my daughters. It’s a blessing to teach my girls at such a young age that life will be hard at times, but through a strong foundation in God’s Word and surrounding ourselves with friends, family and people who support us, we can be victorious.”