I admired one of the rules made by the Church basketball league while I was in high school, “if you don’t go to church you can’t play in the game on Sunday.” So I went to church, but I always wondered what were priests chanting? What language was that? How old was it? As a teenager I really did not care, I just wanted to play basketball. I could not wait to play against our rivals! But on the other hand there was something majestic about church, it was GOD’S house. There was a sense of awe and holiness present when I was in church, back then I could not pin point it but I remember feeling it. Nevertheless I ignored God’s presence. Perhaps because of the guilt and shame? As long as I dealt or used cocaine I can keep my mind off of the shame and guilt, but, bad things kept happening. First, I was not allowed to drive my parent’s car because I failed 2 classes so in the summer of 1986 I needed to go to summer school, AGAIN! Every summer, but like I said earlier, I did not care. I’d rather sit in a morning class for a few hours and have the rest of the day off. After a summer of drug dealing, drugging, smoking and drinking I still was not making extra money! Any money that came in was all gone by the end of the night and then I still owed money on top of it! How is that possible? I had identified that there was a problem but I did not have guidance on what to do with this, so I went to the priest to “confess.” I told him I was snorting cocaine, drinking, smoking, got kicked out of school, and was failing. His response……… (with a Greek accent) “That’s it? That’s all you have to confess? Come back when you have ‘real’ sins to confess.” I was heartbroken. I knew I was doing something wrong and this priest told me to come back with a “real” sin! So, screw the basketball rules. I decided that i would never go back to church again. Next time I spoke to God was 15 years later when I cried out to Him for the first time, more of that in due time, one story at a time. I then went over the deep end. I couldn’t believe that (in my mind) the holiest of holy men, our Greek priest said THAT to me. I remember this like it was yesterday, I was horrified, and I went straight to the bottle and cocaine. I was ignorant to think that a man (the priest) had such power or influence over my decision making. No one has that kind of power over us. It was not his fault I did not have any type strong adult guidance at that time, nevertheless, the real party was just beginning!!
Our LIFEiLEAD™ Support Groups are volunteer-driven and the group leaders are committed to working with the group members to help guide them along the path of recovery. Many of our group leaders have been through addiction and recovery themselves, and all of them have been through our training and development program. Our goal is to plant multiple LIFEiLEAD™ Support Group Programs in communities, churches, transitional homes, and prisons for those struggling with drugs and alcohol.
While our groups are free for those who attend, there are upfront and ongoing costs to provide the necessary training and materials to effectively plant, lead, and sustain the LSG Programs. Not every location where we plant our program has the finances to fully cover the cost of our Program.
Please consider partnering with us with a monthly or one-time donation for 2015 to help reach our goal of $25,000. Your generous donations will go towards helping communities, churches, transitional homes, and prisons in need of the
LIFEiLEAD™ Support Group Program. This effort to generate support for the LIFEiLEAD™ program will allow us to continue to provide help to individuals and families
With your help, we can continue to play a significant role to ensure the continuation and success of these vital services.
LIFEiLEAD
PO Box 633
Warrington Pa 18976-0633
LIFE@riversideconnect.com
1-877-269-9590