The Bare Minimum to Begin Recovery

At Red Sea Recovery we have Core Recovery Concepts that help to shape the processes of recovery that we model here. The first one that we generally touch upon is the recovery concept of "Staking A Valid Claim For Recovery". We begin here because we have found that we need to begin here before any of the other Core Recovery Concepts can kick in.  

Staking a Valid Claim For Recovery, boiled down to its essence, means that if you SAY you want to be recovered from something and stop doing it, there are certain things that you must DO to make that a valid claim. And there's certain things that you must STOP DOING, or else you will invalidate that claim.  

Sounds straight forward, right? Recovery must begin with clear, easy to understand objectives. But Staking a Valid Claim for Recovery requires setting up boundaries in certain areas and placing things outside the claim which you think will invalidate the claim, and leaving things inside the claim that you think will validate it, and is not an easy first step.  That's why so many people never get past this step. For those that do, though, broken chains and victorious living are within their reach.

When you're first starting, sometimes these decisions can be difficult; maybe there are some gray areas in your mind. You don't know about things. You're just thinking that maybe you don't need that person in your life anymore. Maybe you think you don't need this "thing" in your life anymore, or maybe you don't need to go to this place anymore.

So there's things like that, and it's a starting process, but there's some things that you know without a shadow of a doubt that you can not keep in your possession and maintain a valid claim for recovery. There's a second Core Recovery Concept hat comes into play here called Treasure Transfer. In this concept, you begin transferring what we call "fool's gold" that hold great value to you outside of your claim for recovery, and transferring in real treasure found in salvation in Jesus Christ, God's truth, and recovery processes into your claim.   

Photo by benjamin lehman on Unsplash

So in this process, at the bare minimum, when you start, you have to get rid of the fools gold that is DIRECTLY TIED TO YOUR ADDICTION... the treasure that you're holding in your hand.  And by that I mean, things right now that you are currently possessing, at a bare minimum.  If you can't do that, then you don't have a valid claim for recovery.

Let's use a fictitious example.  Let's say you came to me and said, "I'm think I'm addicted to popcorn. I can't stop eating popcorn. I spend too much time eating it. I spend too much money buying it. I have cases of it stacked up in my garage so that I will never run out of it." In this scenario to have a valid claim for recovery, at a bare minimum you would need to dispose of the popcorn you have in your possession currently. All of it. The open cartons in the pantry and the unopened cases in the garage. If you can't begin here, you have no claim for recovery.

Now, obviously, getting rid of all you possess is not going to magically cause you to not want to replace it with more, but it's a starting point you have to take. When you came to me initially, I would ask you a couple of questions. I would first ask, "Do you WANT to stop eating popcorn?" It would be nice if you said yes to that, but that wouldn't be a deal-breaker if you said no.  But then I would ask the deeper question, "Do you NEED to stop eating popcorn?" If you can't answer yes to that one, then there's really no need to keep going forward in the process. Why?

Because we can help you with a WANT problem at Red Sea Recovery, but you have to bring the NEED. You have to know you need it, and then if you come to us and know you need to make this change in your life, then we can help you want to do it more.

When you can confess the NEED to change, then we can come along beside you and help with the ongoing fluctuations of WANTS.

When the knowledge of the NEED remains constant, the fluctuation of the WANTS become manageable.

The fluctuations of the want causes relapses. The constant knowledge of the need, even after a relapse due to a want, causes you to rise up again, turn, and continue the recovery journey.  

Understanding these Core Recovery Concepts of a Valid Clam and Treasure Transfer are just a part of what we do here at Red Sea Recovery. Helping you separate needs from wants, and understanding that needs and wants in the areas of pain and pleasure, are the main driving factors of an addictive lifestyle, and create the processes you put in place to satisfy these desires.

I know that's a mouthful, and you don't need to understand this to begin the journey of recovery here at Red Sea Recovery.  But at a minimum, you have to know that you need it, and then at a bare minimum, to set up a valid claim for recovery, you have to be willing to get rid of everything that is within your possession at the moment.

Like I said earlier, is that going to make you not want to replace it? No. But you can, and must, let go of what you hold in your hands, and then you can begin the longer process of dealing with the heart. And we can be here to help.