When Gabe relapsed at the Mission for the first time, Charlie was there. When he graduated from the Changed Life Recovery Program and relapsed two days later, Charlie was there. During his prison time, Charlie was there. When nearly died from sepsis caused by drug use, Charlie was there. Following jail time when he entered a sober house, Charlie was there. When Gabe got serious about his relationship with Jesus, Charlie was there. When he met and married Ashley, and bought a house, Charlie was there. When he and his new wife were baptized, Charlie was there. When Gabe and Ashley miscarried last year, Charlie was there. And when he celebrated three years sober and they welcomed their newborn son Waylon this past April …. CHARLIE WAS THERE!
Charlie Powers joined the Mission’s board knowing nothing about addiction. He simply showed up and allowed God to use him. He persisted when Gabe was unwilling to talk. He took him out for weekly lunches. He kept inviting Gabe to church. He always included him in his own family’s activities. He invested time to develop the relationship required for trust to be built. Charlie always desired the strong friendship that the men now share.
And it was this consistency that proved to Gabe that Charlie was sincere – he kept coming back. And once Gabe allowed himself to be pulled into Charlie’s family, he didn’t want to lose that feeling. He began going to church again and saw that God answered prayers. He recognized the happiness that he saw in Christians was real and that God was real because of it.
In these two men’s lives, we see the whispering of God to Gabe through Charlie’s faithfulness in word and deed – affirming that Gabe is, indeed, a beloved child of a loving Father. God does use us, humans, to accomplish His will, and we are thankful that Charlie partnered with Him to see a life changed for eternity.
For the Holy Spirit makes God’s fatherhood real to us as he whispers into our innermost being, “You are God’s beloved child!” Romans 8:16 (TPT)
