“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35
I met Danielle a year or two ago. She was a resident at the Women’s Center and told me about her husband Eric. She was praying that I would be able to counsel Eric and help their marriage.
Eric was very closed off; he had a hard time trusting others and his Jewish background didn’t help with wanting to talk to a Christian Pastor. She tried to get us to meet but Eric really didn’t want a part of that. She ended up leaving the Women’s Center and the two of them went through with a divorce.
There was no hope for this family. Broken, Eric started coming to the Men’s Center to talk with me one-on-one to get some things off his chest. He was not very open to the gospel but was able to see there was something different about this church.
Eric and Danielle ended up back together, relapsed, and were in a bad situation. The children were at the center of it all. They both needed a program and Eric reached out to us since he knew that the Christian Care Center was a place of love.
Eric was completely broken. He was always with his children and for the first time ever, he was separated from them. He hated remembering his children’s eyes full of tears as they were leaving him. Eric was full of hate, anger, hurt, and resentment.
Growing up Jewish, he was still not very open to Jesus, but he saw the love of God in this ministry and this church, and it made him seek. We found out when Eric came into the program that Danielle was pregnant. He had thought she had lost the baby, but God had protected that baby and she was due in December.
Eric struggled with not being able to see his children while in the program other than through video calls, but it never stopped him from working his program. He dealt with many stressful incidents regarding his family but that never slowed down his seeking heart. Time and time again Eric stated that one thing was for sure and that was that the love of God was in this place.
Danielle had the baby in December and once again there were complications with the family life. We didn’t know if Eric would come back after the birth, but after about a week, he did. He wanted to finish what he started. Erics heart was softening day by day for the love of Christ.
Danielle was later released from her program and Eric decided to stay to complete what he started and continued to seek the face of Jesus. As it was getting to the end of the program, Eric came to me and asked if I could officiate their marriage. God had restored this family.
There was a time no one would think this family could be restored and then here we were, watching God perform a miracle in this family. A few weeks after their wedding Eric confessed Jesus as his Lord and Savior, and he was baptized here at this church where he said love drew him to.
Here at the Men’s Residence God is not just helping men with their addictions, he is restoring families, bringing fathers home to kids, and changing the eternity of families. If you would like to see how you could partner with the Men’s Residence either through prayer, financially or by volunteering, please email Jamie@Christiancarecenter.org
Comments