Surrendering His Will

RECOVERY | TESTIMONY

In July 2019, James Hall and a friend were traveling from Detroit to his native Kentucky when police pulled them over in Toledo, Ohio. A search of the car revealed 2.5 ounces of opioids the pair was taking back to sell.

“By the time I got to booking, I made a decision I was going to at least make a go of recovery,” Hall recalls.

Hall, who had been a passenger in the car, was given a choice: six months in jail or go to recovery at the Salvation Army’s Adult Rehabilitation Center (ARC) in Toledo. He chose the ARC, but admits he was apprehensive at first.

“I had been raised in the church and kind of walked away with a bad taste in my mouth. Frankly, it scared me to death to have to go face–to–face with God again,” Hall says. “Once I got to the ARC and started on this journey, all that changed. I really got serious about my recovery and about God, and it’s really changed my whole life.

“I’ve been to other rehabs, but they never worked. This one worked, and I feel like I owe my life to The Salvation Army. God’s the one who led me here. It wasn’t my choice.”

When James walked away from church at the age of 12, he eventually replaced it with pot, alcohol, cocaine, and methamphetamines.

“Anything mind–altering, I was all about it,” he said. “The drugs took precedence over anything else I was doing that was honest and good. I lost interest in God. I tried to do everything my own way and through my own will, and it got me nowhere.”

Following that traffic stop, everything came full circle when he entered the ARC a month later and met Envoys Mike and Lori Price, who helped him work through his issues.

“They convinced me I needed to surrender and give up my will and my life to God,” he said. “It took about a month. I recommitted my life to Jesus. It’s an overwhelming and wonderful feeling sometimes. I try to give back what was given to me and stay immersed in recovery.”

Hall, 47, a former elementary teacher and coach in Ashland, Ky., graduated from the ARC program in January 2020 and is now helping form a recovery non-profit called "The Gap of Toledo." He worships at the Toledo, Ohio, Temple Corps and is also active in Alcoholics Anonymous and Heroin Anonymous.

“My relationship continues to evolve and grow every day,” he said. “I try to stay in conscious contact with God throughout the day and build my relationship and just do the next right thing.

“God’s the one who led me here. It wasn’t my choice. I take it one day at a time, but after 35 years of addiction, I’m on the right road.”

by ROBERT MITCHELL

What makes the ARC program so successful?

It’s a perfect mix of recovery, work therapy, and spirituality—if you come in and surrender to the program, which is what you must do. If you don’t, it’s not going to work for you. If you don’t do that, you’re not ready anyway. It’s about the commitment.

They provide the service, but you must put in the work. I mean that both literally and figuratively. You must put in the work for your recovery. Work therapy is also an integral part of why it works.

My occupation when I came into the ARC was slinging dope; I had no pride in what I did. I did it so I could support my habit and make a living. To come in here and do some honest work helped me take pride in myself. I hadn’t done an honest day’s work in a long time.

To come in here and work made me feel like a human being again. It made me feel honest about what I was doing. In most of the rehabs where I’ve gone, they provide all the services. Here, I work eight hours a day and to me, I work for my room and board and food.

Then there are the classes, which helped me get my relationship with God back. There are also the people I’ve met while being in this program. They are examples of success with sobriety. We have fellowship and comradery. The way we hold each other up and accountable is an integral part of my recovery. If I had gone anywhere else, I wouldn’t be sober. I would have gone back to what I was doing. Nowhere else would have changed my life the way the ARC has.