Minister ' s Minute
As part of our Road to Recovery series in February, we highlighted a couple OCC stories of recovery. One of those was from Bill Davidson, our Celebrate Recovery (CR) leader. His story was so powerful I thought it would be good to share it again in this edition of our newsletter. Bill is married to Laura and together they have 3 children, Nicole, Drew, and Lindsay. The Davidson’s have been a part of OCC for the last 10 years. The following is an excerpt from his testimony: “Like King David I was having a love affair, but the affair wasn’t with a woman, it was with alcohol. The affair started early on in college. It was going out with friends every now and then to sports bars to have a beer here and there. Eventually that escalated into longer and much harder drinking. It’s hard to imagine relating alcohol to a lover, but that point was driven home to me one day when I was taking a walk on the Sippo Valley Trail. I walked by a car with a man sitting in it. He was well-dressed and I could tell he probably wasn’t going for a walk. I went for my walk and when I came back there was another car there with a woman sitting in it, and they were talking back and forth. It could have totally been innocuous, I don’t know, but God impressed upon me right then that I’d been sitting there, almost in the same spot, only I wasn’t with a woman, I was drinking beer. And my drinking was taking time away from my wife and children. I was missing appointments. I was missing my kids’ sporting events, or if I did go, I would arrive under the influence. In other words, alcohol was completely consuming my life.
Minister’s Minute
March – May 2016
help for today and hope for tomorrow
The big crisis came on February 28, 2014. I had to pick up my oldest daughter at college in Ashland. I was working in Youngstown at the time, so I had about an hour and a half to do my drinking. I picked Nicole up and for some reason I didn’t go to the bathroom. Maybe I was thinking if I stopped, she might detect that I had been drinking, even though I’m sure she could have smelled it. Anyway, I drove all the way to Orrville. In the meantime, Laura called and said, “Why
don’t you pick up a pizza on the way home.” I said, “Okay, I can do that.” So, I got to the pizza place and Mother Nature was really calling so I went down an alley, did my business, and all of the sudden I looked up and all I saw were blue and red lights flashing and an Orrville policeman walking toward me. I thought, “Oh no! I’m in the jackpot now, I guess.” The officer talked to me for half an hour – he did all the talking and I did all the listening. Then I started walking back to my car and that’s when I said to God, “God, I cannot do this anymore. I can’t live like this any longer. You’re going to have to do for me what I cannot do for myself.” That’s when I got back into the car, sat down, and Nicole looked at me. The look on her face, as a parent, you never want to see that. That’s when I could sense God say to me, “Bill, I’m with you through this. It’s going to be okay.” And it was then I felt God with me and that it was going to be okay. CR at OCC right now is for people who are struggling with alcohol or drug issues. Only God could get me sober, but people help me remain sober. God impressed that upon me early on in my recovery. You need to be with people that have been on the same road you’ve been down who can help you out, and that’s what CR is all about. CR is a discussion group that focuses on the 8 principles from The Beatitudes that we find in the Gospel of Matthew. But we could talk about anything. If someone is struggling with a certain issue that night, they bring it up and we just talk about that. It doesn’t have to be alcohol related.” You are invited to join Bill and others at Celebrate Recovery on Wednesday nights from 8 to 9 p.m. in room 116 at OCC. If you’d like to contact Bill beforehand, you can do that at (440) 823-0690. All inquiries will be held strictly confidential. OCC, where Jesus offers help for today and hope for tomorrow! See you Sunday! Because He Lives,
6 8:15 a.m. – Classic Worship 9:45 a.m. – Sunday School 9:45 & 11:00 a.m. – Contemporary Worship
Children’s Ministry University (CMU), our in-house volunteer training program, is up and running. If you volunteer in any of our Children’s Ministries (birth – 4th grade), please sign up on our website (Children’s Ministry tab) for one of our basic training sessions and one of our agespecific sessions.
Wednesday Nights From 8 to 9 p.m. Room 116 at OCC
Minister’s Minute
March – May 2016
help for today and hope for tomorrow
The big crisis came on February 28, 2014. I had to pick up my oldest daughter at college in Ashland. I was working in Youngstown at the time, so I had about an hour and a half to do my drinking. I picked Nicole up and for some reason I didn’t go to the bathroom. Maybe I was thinking if I stopped, she might detect that I had been drinking, even though I’m sure she could have smelled it. Anyway, I drove all the way to Orrville. In the meantime, Laura called and said, “Why
don’t you pick up a pizza on the way home.” I said, “Okay, I can do that.” So, I got to the pizza place and Mother Nature was really calling so I went down an alley, did my business, and all of the sudden I looked up and all I saw were blue and red lights flashing and an Orrville policeman walking toward me. I thought, “Oh no! I’m in the jackpot now, I guess.” The officer talked to me for half an hour – he did all the talking and I did all the listening. Then I started walking back to my car and that’s when I said to God, “God, I cannot do this anymore. I can’t live like this any longer. You’re going to have to do for me what I cannot do for myself.” That’s when I got back into the car, sat down, and Nicole looked at me. The look on her face, as a parent, you never want to see that. That’s when I could sense God say to me, “Bill, I’m with you through this. It’s going to be okay.” And it was then I felt God with me and that it was going to be okay. CR at OCC right now is for people who are struggling with alcohol or drug issues. Only God could get me sober, but people help me remain sober. God impressed that upon me early on in my recovery. You need to be with people that have been on the same road you’ve been down who can help you out, and that’s what CR is all about. CR is a discussion group that focuses on the 8 principles from The Beatitudes that we find in the Gospel of Matthew. But we could talk about anything. If someone is struggling with a certain issue that night, they bring it up and we just talk about that. It doesn’t have to be alcohol related.” You are invited to join Bill and others at Celebrate Recovery on Wednesday nights from 8 to 9 p.m. in room 116 at OCC. If you’d like to contact Bill beforehand, you can do that at (440) 823-0690. All inquiries will be held strictly confidential. OCC, where Jesus offers help for today and hope for tomorrow! See you Sunday! Because He Lives,
6 8:15 a.m. – Classic Worship 9:45 a.m. – Sunday School 9:45 & 11:00 a.m. – Contemporary Worship
Children’s Ministry University (CMU), our in-house volunteer training program, is up and running. If you volunteer in any of our Children’s Ministries (birth – 4th grade), please sign up on our website (Children’s Ministry tab) for one of our basic training sessions and one of our agespecific sessions.
Wednesday Nights From 8 to 9 p.m. Room 116 at OCC
