By Harold Keller / L’Observateur / January 18, 1999

This past Tuesday, I was invited to speak in Covington to a group called “Night Treatment.” The group was composed of people court-ordered by arelatively new program in the judicial system called drug court. Thepeople in the group were assigned to this program because of drug-related offenses and, as an alternative to jail, have to serve a year at Night Court with regular drug tests to assure they are clean. If they violate theconditions of the court order, they will have to serve time in jail.

I really had a cross-section of people (11 men and one woman). In my talk,I mentioned how God had played a major part in my sobriety. I then asked,as I always do, if anyone in the group didn’t believe in God. One young mansaid, “I’m a diest. We believe that God created the heaven and the earth. Hewill be the final judge, but we believe He has no part in our everyday lives.” “Something like the ‘new age’ movement,” I said. “Similar, but notexactly,” he said.

I spoke for almost one and one-half hours and had a lot of interaction with the group. My subject was “Getting High on Life.” One young man had beento two treatment centers. I told him that a treatment center cannot getyou straight. “It has to start in your heart,” I said. “It will be yourdecision if, for the rest of your life, you will depend on drugs and settle for an artificial high, opposed to getting high on life, which will give you a natural high with no negative after-effects. Only you can make thatdecision.” I told them, “If you ever realized how important you are to God,you would never abuse your body again with drugs.”When I asked another young man why he used drugs, he answered, “To feel good.” “Pretty good answer,” I said. “The sad part,” I continued, “is thatmaybe you’ll need drugs the rest of your life, unless you decided to feel good about who you are.” He looked puzzled. “The trouble with you, son,” Isaid, “is that you don’t like yourself.” He agreed. “If you did, you wouldn’tneed a mind-altering substance to make you feel good.”The lady in the group was in her late 20s. She was really pretty and, as themeeting went on, I could tell she was enjoying it. I asked if she wasmarried. “No,” she replied. “I don’t think I ever will.” “I hope you do,” Isaid. “In fact, my prayer for you is that God will, one day, if you get youract together, send you a godly man who will love you and give you children because I believe you would make an excellent wife and mother.” Shesmiled and was encouraged. (I was reminded that encouragement is like atransfusion of courage and sends a message of hope.)Another young man looked a little lazy. He just sat there, with not muchemotion, until I told him, “Son, you would make a good character for a lazy-man commercial.” Everybody, including him, laughed. After that, hereally got into the message. When the meeting was over, he hugged me andasked, “Why don’t you come back soon?” (This only proves that people are crying out for attention.)One of the biggest guys in the group was really into my talk. He had earlieradmitted that he had been to three treatment centers. I walked up to himand said, “I would really like to just slap you.” “Why?” he asked. “Becauseyou don’t know how important you are to God, and that He has an exciting, perfect plan for your life that doesn’t include drugs,” I answered. “Maybe aslap would wake you up to the reality that you are made in the likeness and image of God,” I said. (Sometimes a sudden shock will wake people up.)As the meeting came to a close, I recognized the one young man in the group whom I had met previously at a treatment center. He had justcelebrated six months of being drug-free. We all gave him a big hand forhis accomplishment and you could see the satisfaction on his face.

The meeting was great, not because I was there, but because God had gathered some of his very special children together for a time of caring and sharing with a spirit of love and understanding.

Harold Keller is a regular columnist for L’Observateur

Copyright © 1998, Wick Communications, Inc.

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