Saturday, May 12, 2012

Thank God for Bell Ringers!

This is more a food for the soul than food for the body, post.  This is your opportunity to Click & Close :)
I realize it's not Christmas time and so normally the image of those irritating bell ringers that stand in front of every store I need to enter to complete my Christmas shopping would not come to mind but...

As many of you know my son, Daniel is a heroin addict.  I've gotten past the embarrassment and shame of this and am now just focusing on being a prayerful supporter of his recovery (and that of a few other loved ones).  I am just back from the Seattle area where I spent most of the week helping to facilitate him being admitted to another round of treatment.  If you are a sports fan in Seattle I bet you've seen a little facility across the street from the beautiful stadiums and probably not even thought twice about what was going on there.  It's the Seattle home of those darn bell ringers from the Salvation Army.  All day Wednesday we waited for a call back from one of the counselors hoping Dan would be accepted into their long term program.  On Thursday (the day I was supposed to be going home) I decided it would be less easy to be ignored if we just showed up down there.  I had no idea what to expect but I nervously navigated my way down to the area of the stadiums... I bet many of you could find your way there with your eyes closed right?  Anyway, we parked and walked up to the door.   It was locked so we just stood there for a minute not realizing that we just needed to "ring the bell".  Just then a man with big smile and a tag hanging around his neck walked up and said, "looks like y'all need to get inside, come on I'll take you up.  By the way... my name is Daniel and I've been clean 4 years.  I work in the warehouse."  My Daniel let out an audible sigh and I could sense just a bit of fear drain out of him.  That was the way I felt too.  Amazing how comforting a smile and a few friendly words can be.  We entered the facility and took the elevator upstairs and were greeted by more smiles and encouraging words from a number of other people who told us they were either in the program or that they had been.  The intake coordinator Anthony, who we had pestered for the last day and a half with voice mails came out and apologized for not getting back to us as soon as he would have liked. He said they were super busy but that it was great that we just came on down.  It showed that he (Dan) really wanted to be in the program.  Now mind you... it wasn't so much that Dan wanted to be in the program... it was just that he was out of options (and realized that the way he had been living was not really working)!  We were not there for more than 20 minutes before we were out on the street again with the instructions to come back tomorrow at 10 am to begin the program.  We were so relieved... and it was a beautiful day so we spent the rest of the day in Seattle poking around the Pike Place Market and having lunch down on the water front.  Michele works near by so we went and picked her up for lunch.


We had a delicious lunch at Ivar's...



No trip to the waterfront is complete without ferries and seagulls


Some things never change... sibling love :)

Oh the seafood at the Market!


Of course all fun days must come to an end... and the next day... well let's just say we made it to the Salvation Army Adult Treatment Program by 10:00 am.

The intake process is pretty lengthy so I stayed for about an hour.  By that time some other guys had begun to sort of take Dan under their wing and talk to him about what he might expect in the program.  I realized that I wasn't needed.  I felt a bit like I was watching him get on the bus for the first time when he went off to kindergarten and knew that once again... it was out of my hands.  But I feel like he was in good hands... God's and some caring people who want to reach down and pull someone else up out of the quicksand.  As I sat and listened to a few conversations around me I realized that probably all of the men, young and old were in much the same place... out of options.  This is probably not where you are going if you have a bunch of money or a fancy insurance policy.  It's also not a quick fix.  Most of the men who complete the program will have been there for six months or more.  They get you clean, get you working and get you focused on God and give you tools and resources to go out and be productive.  It occurred to me that if you are completely overwhelmed and enslaved to an addiction... out of options is a great place to be.  It's the first step.

So... for a good time call...


:)  Actually I know he could really use your prayers.  I doubt he's having a good time right now.  But he's taken that first step... again.  I'm sure like Dan many of the men are not in there for the first time.  Perhaps it's the 2nd, 3rd or 4th time.  But each life is of great value and I am thankful for another chance for my son.  It's not only for men.  Nicole (Dan's fiance) was admitted to the womens facility just a few days before Dan.  I know she would appreciate your prayers too.  In the end I just want to say... I'll never think of those darn bell ringers as pests again.  I'll make sure I have something to drop in the bucket and an encouraging word for them.  Maybe some day I'll even ring a bell myself.  They are in the business of changing lives.

Thanks!!!