"Are you driving?" Mom asked.
"Yes" I answered. She knew I always called her on my way home from work.
"Can you pull over?" was her next question. I immediately knew
something was wrong. As I quickly pulled into a parking lot my mind raced to the
worst possible outcomes.
"What's wrong?" I asked. "It's
your dad," mom replied. I felt my heart fall to my feet as my mom spent
the next few minutes explaining to me, through her tears the events of the
prior 24 hours. My dad had been arrested for purchasing pain pills illegally.
He had spent the night in jail, and after my grandparents and my uncle bailed
him out he was now at home experiencing horrendous withdrawals.
In one short phone call my life was flipped
upside down. I have a great family. We aren’t perfect, but we are the Bass
Family, known for our Christian views and scripture board in our restaurant.
And now my dad, my wonderful, amazingly loving father was going to rehab? I couldn’t wrap my mind around this. I do have
to add that my dad suffers from chronic back pain. He’s had pain ever since I
can remember. He started taking pain medicine years ago, and like any addict,
he needed more and more over time. Like I said, we own a restaurant, so he’s
worked on his feet for 25 years. With the chronic back aches, he took more
medicine to work through the pain and provide for our family.
The following 3 days were filled with a tidal
wave of emotion. After calling my boss and explaining the situation I took off
work and headed home. (I was living in Nashville at the time working as a
nanny). I recently found this old
facebook post describing my feelings from those few days.
I was right. The roller coaster did have it’s ups and downs. We celebrated our family
Thanksgiving at rehab that year, our family received hate mail (my dad is a
local politician and known for being very conservative), we watched our dad’s
arrest story on the news, and we all had to give more than ever before. But God
never left us and our friends and family rallied around my family like never before.
The Monday after the arrest, mom and I picked dad up from a detox center and took him to rehab. That day dad and I shared a very special moment that I will never forget. My dad
has the greatest heart of anyone I know. Seriously he would give up everything
he has to help someone in need. And as news of his arrest spread lots of people
started sharing stories of his compassion with us. My favorite was from a man
who we went to church with. He told me about the time he saw my dad buying girl
scout cookies. As this man was trying to sneak past them without being asked to buy some,
he saw my dad hand back the box he had just purchased and heard him say, “Why don’t you
girls keep this box and use it for free samples. I think you would sell more if
you had samples.” As mom, dad, and I were sitting Crackle Barrel in Sullivan
Missouri I started telling him these stories. I remember telling him how much I
love him and that I had never been more proud to be his daughter. He stood up
right there, reached across his pancakes, and hugged me while we both cried.
I am sharing all of this now
because of God’s grace. God has taken a situation that was intended for
destruction and used it for His glory. Tomorrow marks the 3 year
anniversary of these events. My amazing father has not only been free of his
addiction for 3 years, but he is allowing God to use him and his story. Dad has
always been somewhat of a minister. He ministers to people in our restaurant
everyday. He feeds people who are hungry and prays with anyone that needs
prayer. But through rehab and celebrate recovery he is reaching a whole different crowd. He has a new understanding of others, addictions, and the healing power God brings.
God is faithful. He loves us
enough to break our addictions, heal our hearts, and make us whole in Him. He
meets us right where we are, pulls us out of the mud, cleans us off, and rebuilds us. I’m so thankful for my dad. I couldn't ask for a better father
or example of Christ’s love.
Zephaniah 3:17 – The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with his love, he will
rejoice over you with singing.
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Dad, My niece Ruth, and me. -This is one of my all time favorite pictures.
