“God told me to Be Still.”

In part three of this three-part series, Anthony realizes that everything he needs is right here at Emerge. He doesn’t have to keep running or searching. We hope Anthony’s story will inspire you to make a year-end gift to Emerge. The Gift of Recovery will give more people true freedom from addiction and allow them to follow God’s Plan for their lives.

“God was like, be still, stay at Emerge. If I had not prayed about it, I would have probably left the program and everything.

He said, stay at Emerge. He kept on telling people to tell me to be still. Be still.  I was like, be still. Okay, I’m going to do what God tells me to do. And I just said, okay, I’m going to turn that job down. And, of course, Sean, The Arise Cafe owner kept supporting and mentoring me. He paid me nowhere close to that amount, but he kept on giving me a raise.

I kept saving my money. My father passed away. I had enough money to bury my father. Then my pastor found a car I could buy. It was a station wagon to help with my catering jobs.

So God told me to be still.  And God blessed me with just the right kind of vehicle and it’s really dependable. God kept setting me up for where I am now.  

I moved out of Emerge Springs Recovery Housing and moved back home. Sean kept on giving me raises. I kept saving my money. We started doing a lot of catering for Yellow Springs and in Greene County.

Then Sean got a job offer at Table 33  and he asked, ‘You ready to take over? You’ve been saving your money?’ I was like, yeah, I’m ready.  Even though I didn’t think I really was ready.  

But I am not going to tell God no, am I? He was setting me up. And then God told me to feed the homeless.  

I was cooking for three or four churches and doing meetings and one time God told me to feed the homeless. So I went out and people gave me all this food and I fed the homeless. And since then it has become a passion of mine…to feed the homeless.

I try to take our residents and get them temporary jobs, teach them things, and try to show them how to get a better job. They just went through the program like I did, and are just in the same spot that I was. We’ve built a bond of helping each other.

Now I’m 11 months sober and God is still telling me to be still and be patient. This is where I want you to be. 

I credit the faith-based part at Emerge that worked for me. God helped me through all this. I try to explain to people that you can go through the twelve steps and still be God-grounded and still go to church. I said God explained it to me. He showed me that Jesus had 12 disciples to help him. So I have 12 steps to help me just like Jesus had 12 disciples.  

I love my life so I wouldn’t give it up for anything. I’m not better than anybody, it’s just that I did what God asked me to do. I did what the program asked me to do. This is the payoff. I’ve seen people who came from nothing to finding employment because they did exactly what God asked them to do. 

My life has been very, very blessed.  My daughter and I are fantastic. My mother loves the change. She loves what I’m doing and how I’m doing it. 

I will tell anyone tired of being sick and tired to be still and pray. That’s what God told me, and I let Him do the rest. There is a promise in the program that says…you’ll be amazed after the change, and the things that’s gonna happen for you, if you just be still, and just stay. 

It is amazing how my life has changed.”

Anthony is just one example of how the recovery ecosystem at Emerge is created to offer treatment, sober living, access to life, and job skills in a faith-based environment. Whether a resident chooses a 12-step or Faith-based program, Emerge provides holistic care for those who are ready to rebuild their lives.

Thanks for supporting those on this journey!