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Recovery Grounded in Faith and Human Dignity
Eternal Awakenings is a Christian recovery community in Gonzales, Texas, built for people and families who need hope, structure, and a real place to begin again.
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Addiction and Recovery
Clear, grounded guidance on addiction, treatment, and the slow work of rebuilding a life.
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Recovery and Family
Support for families carrying the fear, anger, grief, hope, and exhaustion addiction leaves behind.
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Grace in the Shadows
Reflections on faith, mercy, and the quiet places where recovery often begins.
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Stories, announcements, recovery reflections, and new writing from Eternal Awakenings.
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What to Expect at a Christian Rehab
A direct article for families and individuals wondering what treatment may actually look like.
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Christian Treatment
Welcome to Eternal Awakenings Christian Drug Rehab. Set in a Gonzales, Texas historic mansion, our drug rehab center provides a
beautiful, serene atmosphere conducive to spiritual reflection and Christian recovery. By applying Christian principles, our faith-based rehabilitation
program helps people effectively overcome the destructive power of alcohol and drug addiction.
Overcome drug addiction with our Christian Drug Treatment Center
Our Christian Drug Rehab has helped hundreds of adults from all over the country overcome alcohol and drug addiction. Unlike secular rehabs, our Christ-centered rehab
focuses on healing of the mind, body, and spirit through Christian recovery.
Christian Drug Treatment Counseling – Hope for the family
The negative effects of addiction are far reaching. Whether it involves the abuse of drugs or alcohol, the behavior of the addicted person impacts many lives.
Spouses and children, parents and siblings, and close friends are all affected. We consider the family throughout the rehabilitation, healing and recovery process.
As an integral part of our Christian rehab program, we provide the opportunity for Christian Family Counseling. There is hope.
Christian Treatment
12-Step Recovery and Christian Faith Together
How surrender, confession, amends, prayer, and service connect twelve-step recovery with Christian discipleship.
Two Paths That Were Never Really Separate
Many people assume that twelve-step recovery and Christian faith occupy different worlds. One feels clinical and structured; the other feels personal and spiritual. In practice, though, the two have always had far more in common than they have differences. For people working through addiction, understanding how these two frameworks fit together can be the difference between a program that fades and one that truly transforms.
At Eternal Awakenings, the connection is not just theoretical. The program in Gonzales, Texas brings Christian principles and twelve-step recovery together into a single, unified approach because founder Jim Welch, who carries over 43 years of experience in drug addiction treatment in Texas, has seen firsthand how powerful that combination can be.
The Common Foundation: Admitting You Cannot Do It Alone
The very first step in twelve-step recovery asks a person to admit powerlessness over addiction and to acknowledge that life has become unmanageable. For someone without a spiritual framework, this can feel defeating. For a Christian, it is simply the starting point of faith.
Scripture is full of this same honest admission. Romans 3:23 puts it plainly: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The twelve steps and the Christian tradition both begin with humility, with the recognition that human willpower alone is not enough. This shared starting point is not a coincidence. It reflects something true about the nature of addiction and the nature of the human heart.
When a person in recovery stops pretending they can manage on their own and turns toward something greater than themselves, healing becomes possible. In a Christ-centered program, that “higher power” has a name, a face, and a promise: the grace of Jesus Christ.
Steps Two Through Seven: Surrender, Faith, and Transformation
The middle steps of twelve-step recovery map closely onto the Christian journey of conversion and growth. They ask a person to believe that a power greater than themselves can restore sanity, turn their will over to God, take a searching moral inventory, admit wrongs to God and another person, and become ready for God to remove character defects.
Read through that slowly. It sounds like a description of repentance, confession, and sanctification. These are not borrowed Christian ideas awkwardly grafted onto a secular system. They are, at their core, deeply biblical movements of the soul.
At Eternal Awakenings, counselors who are themselves believers in Jesus Christ guide residents through this process using Christian principles as reflected in the Gospel. The result is that the steps are not just completed as a checklist. They are lived through with faith, prayer, and the support of a community that understands what genuine transformation looks like.
Making Amends and the Power of Forgiveness
Steps eight and nine involve making a list of people who have been harmed by addiction and, wherever possible, making direct amends. This is one of the most difficult parts of any recovery journey. Old shame, broken relationships, and deep regret can feel impossible to face.
The Christian message meets people exactly here. Forgiveness is not just a nice idea in the Gospel; it is the central reality. The same grace that forgives sin also gives people the courage to make things right with others. As the testimony of April G. on the Eternal Awakenings website describes, working through the twelve steps within a Christ-centered environment allowed her to “forgive myself and others, as well as make amends” after nearly two decades of addiction to methamphetamine.
Victor M., a former prescription pill addict who found sobriety through the program, put it simply: “I found Christ while at Eternal Awakenings and it all came together. I have to have both Christ and 12 step meetings; they work together for an unbeatable solution.”
That phrase, “unbeatable solution,” says a great deal. The steps provide a structured process. Faith provides the power and the meaning behind every step.
Ongoing Recovery: Steps Ten Through Twelve
The final steps of twelve-step recovery are not about finishing. They are about continuing. Daily inventory, prayer, meditation, and carrying the message to others who still suffer all have direct parallels in Christian discipleship.
Daily examination of conscience mirrors the biblical call to self-reflection. Prayer and seeking God’s will is the heartbeat of Christian life. Service to others flows naturally from the command to love your neighbor.
For residents at Eternal Awakenings, ongoing recovery is supported not just by counseling and the twelve steps, but also by access to addiction physicians and psychiatrists who help address the medical dimensions of addiction. Healing of the mind, body, and spirit is not a slogan. It is the structure of the program.
The connection to Living Waters Fellowship, which is part of the Eternal Awakenings community, means that residents are not left on their own after completing formal treatment. They are invited into an ongoing Christian community where faith and accountability continue together.
What This Looks Like in Real Recovery
For someone who has tried other programs without lasting results, the combination of twelve-step structure and Christian faith offers something different. It is not just about stopping a destructive behavior. It is about understanding why life felt so empty that the behavior started in the first place, and finding a genuine answer to that emptiness.
Susan, a 32-year-old who spent twelve years in heroin addiction before coming to Eternal Awakenings, described it this way: “I threw myself wholeheartedly into recovery and began searching for God with all my heart.” After ninety days in the program, she wrote that she had been “completely set free from the chains that had bound me for so many years.”
This is what the alignment of twelve-step recovery and Christian faith can produce. Not just sobriety managed by willpower, but genuine freedom rooted in something that does not fade.
If You or Someone You Love Is Struggling
The path forward does not require you to have everything figured out. It only requires a willingness to take one step. Eternal Awakenings has helped hundreds of adults from across the country overcome addiction to alcohol, heroin, methamphetamine, prescription pills, marijuana, and cocaine, all within a Christ-centered, twelve-step framework guided by caring Christian counselors.
If you are ready to talk, or simply want to learn more about how the program works, reach out today. Call (830) 263-3269 or email eternalawakenings@gmail.com. There is hope, and help is closer than you think.
Christian Treatment
What to Expect at a Christian Rehab
A practical walk-through of the setting, faith foundation, treatment components, family support, and first step.
Making the decision to enter drug or alcohol rehabilitation is one of the most significant steps a person can take. For many people, uncertainty about what actually happens inside a treatment center is one of the biggest reasons they hold back. If faith is already part of your life, or if you are open to a spiritually grounded approach, a Christian drug rehab program might be exactly what you have been looking for. Knowing what to expect can ease that fear and help you take the first step with confidence.
A Setting Designed for Reflection and Healing
Not all rehab centers look or feel the same. At Eternal Awakenings, the program is housed in a historic mansion in Gonzales, Texas. The environment is intentional. Comfortable bedrooms, shared living spaces, a dining room, and peaceful outdoor grounds all contribute to an atmosphere where residents can slow down, breathe, and begin to heal.
The setting is not clinical or institutional. It feels more like a home, which matters more than people often realize. When your surroundings feel safe and dignified, it becomes easier to open up, engage honestly in the recovery process, and stay focused on getting better.
Christian Principles at the Core of Treatment
A faith-based program is different from a secular rehab in one essential way: the foundation. At Eternal Awakenings, healing is understood as involving the mind, body, and spirit together. Christian principles are woven through every part of the program, not added as an optional extra.
This Christ-centered approach draws on Scripture, prayer, and a belief that God can and does restore people who are suffering from addiction. The program reflects a conviction, stated clearly by founder Jim Welch, that there is a better way for lives to be transformed through faith. With more than 43 years of experience in drug addiction treatment in Texas, Welch built this program on the belief that the Christian message brings real hope, help, and healing.
If you have tried other treatment programs and found them incomplete, the spiritual dimension of a faith-based rehab may be the missing piece.
What the Treatment Program Includes
Understanding the specific components of care helps set realistic expectations. At Eternal Awakenings, treatment combines several evidence-informed approaches with Christian faith:
- Group counseling: Residents work through their experiences, grief, and recovery in a group setting led by counselors who are committed Christians. This shared process helps people realize they are not alone.
- Twelve-step recovery with a Christian framework: The twelve steps are integrated with Christian principles, addressing not just behavior but the spiritual roots of addiction.
- Christian Family Counseling: Because addiction affects everyone close to the person struggling, Eternal Awakenings includes family counseling as part of the program. Spouses, parents, children, and siblings are considered throughout the rehabilitation process.
- Spiritual community: Residents are connected to a Christian community that supports long-term sobriety. Several testimonials from graduates mention staying connected to that community well after completing the program.
What Substances Are Addressed
Eternal Awakenings works with adults struggling with a range of addictions, including:
- Alcohol
- Heroin
- Methamphetamine
- Prescription pills (including opiates)
- Marijuana
- Cocaine.
What the Daily Experience Feels Like
People sometimes imagine that a Christian rehab will feel rigid or judgmental. The testimonials from residents at Eternal Awakenings tell a very different story. Words that come up repeatedly include ‘caring,’ ‘gentle,’ ‘compassionate,’ and ‘tender.’ Brittney, a 27-year-old from Georgia who completed treatment for a seven-year alcohol addiction, described arriving alone and broken and immediately feeling at home. Susan, who struggled with heroin addiction for twelve years, said the staff was supportive and that she experienced real freedom after 90 days of treatment.
April G, who came to Eternal Awakenings after years of methamphetamine use, put it plainly: ‘I have been to many drug rehabs, but the only place I received true healing was at Eternal Awakenings.’
The tone of life inside the program reflects a core belief that people in recovery deserve dignity, grace, and community, not shame.
What Families Can Expect
If you are a family member looking for help for someone you love, Eternal Awakenings also offers intervention services. The program’s approach to intervention is rooted in a model developed by Dr. Vern Johnson, based on the idea that a person does not have to lose everything before accepting help. A structured intervention, conducted by people who care about the addicted person, can create the turning point needed to get someone into treatment.
For families who have already tried asking, pleading, or waiting, a formal intervention guided by someone with decades of experience can change the outcome. Jim Welch has conducted many successful interventions over more than three decades. Christian Family Counseling is also available to help families process their own pain and learn how to support their loved one through recovery.
If you are not sure where to start, reaching out to Eternal Awakenings is a simple first step. The team is available by phone at (830) 263-3269 or by email at eternalawakenings@gmail.com.
Taking the First Step
Knowing what to expect makes it easier to say yes. A Christian drug rehab program like Eternal Awakenings offers something that clinical treatment alone cannot: a community grounded in faith, a setting that feels human, and a genuine belief that transformation is possible regardless of how long someone has been struggling or how many times they have tried before.
The message at Eternal Awakenings is straightforward: make a choice, take a step, find life. If you or someone you love is ready to take that step, the door is open.
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Our Doctors
A Time for Compassion…
“A time to tear and a time to mend.”
Ecclesiastes 3:7 NIV
The majority of Eternal Awakening’s residents see consulting doctors on Tuesday of each week.
Our residents may see an addiction physician or a psychiatrist depending on individual need.
We believe our doctors tremendously increase the chances to achieve sobriety for our residents.
The doctors help with general medical issues associated with addiction and are extremely effective with
prescription drug addictions that are opiate based.
Doctor visit pricing:
Doctor visits are not covered in the cost of treatment.
The initial evaluation is $300.00 and each subsequent visit is $150.00.
Our Doctors
How Addiction Doctors Support Long-Term Sobriety
Why medical care, withdrawal support, mental health treatment, and faith-based recovery work better together.
The Medical Foundation of Recovery
When someone struggles with addiction, recovery rarely follows a simple formula. The body may be chemically dependent, the mind may be clouded by craving, and the spirit may feel broken. Long-term sobriety often requires skilled medical professionals working alongside counselors and faith leaders.
Addiction doctors understand the biology of substance abuse. They can assess withdrawal symptoms, recognize medical complications, and prescribe medications that help stabilize the transition from active addiction into recovery.
Breaking the Grip of Withdrawal
Withdrawal can be one of the biggest barriers to recovery. Symptoms may include anxiety, insomnia, muscle pain, nausea, intense cravings, and sometimes dangerous medical emergencies.
For heroin and prescription opioid addiction, addiction doctors may use medications such as buprenorphine-based treatment when appropriate. Medical support does not make recovery effortless, but it can make the early process survivable enough for counseling, community, and spiritual healing to begin.
Addressing Hidden Medical Problems
Substance abuse can hide or worsen depression, anxiety, trauma, sleep problems, malnutrition, infections, and other health issues. When these problems are ignored, the person may struggle to participate honestly in therapy or spiritual work.
At Eternal Awakenings, residents may see an addiction physician or psychiatrist depending on individual need. This helps address the medical side of recovery while the program also supports healing of the mind, body, and spirit.
Why Consistency Matters
- Monitor physical health while the body repairs itself.
- Adjust medications as the brain and emotions stabilize.
- Catch relapse warning signs early.
- Address new mental or physical health concerns.
- Provide expert guidance around medication interactions and recovery planning.
Medical Care Plus Faith-Based Recovery
Medical care is not a replacement for faith, counseling, or community. It supports those deeper parts of recovery by helping the person become stable enough to engage them. A medication that reduces cravings may create enough mental clarity for therapy. Counseling and Christian faith can then address the pain, shame, and emptiness that addiction was masking.
If you would like to learn more about how medical support and Christian recovery work together, call (830) 263-3269.
If you have questions about medical support during treatment, please call
(830) 263-3269
or email
eternalawakenings@gmail.com.
Testimonials
Select a testimonial to read:
Methamphetamine Addiction Testimonial
April G shares her recovery story after years of addiction.
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Heroin Testimonial
Susan shares how treatment helped her break free from heroin addiction.
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Marijuana Testimonial
Rodrigo L describes overcoming marijuana addiction and finding purpose.
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Prescription Pill Testimonial
Victor M shares his journey back to sobriety after relapse.
Read
Alcohol Testimonial
Read an alcohol recovery testimonial.
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Brittney’s Alcohol Recovery Testimonial
Full testimonial + photo (real content).
Read Brittney’s
Methamphetamine Addiction Testimonial
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April G: Formerly addicted to drugs, Houston, TX
“When I was in high school, I remember a public service announcement on TV that said, “Nobody ever says, ‘When I grow up I want to be a junkie.’” I laughed about it with my friends, never knowing how prophetic it would be. I was raised in a loving family in a drug and alcohol- free environment. I excelled in school, and was on my way to college and a bright future. I had dreams of a successful career and a family. I was not supposed to be a drug addict. For whatever reason, I decided to try cocaine and methamphetamine when I was 18. I fell in love and was addicted immediately, never knowing that drugs would steal everything I ever loved. By the time college started, I was too high to register. Before long, I was getting in trouble with the law, but I didn’t care because nothing else mattered but getting the next high. Nearly twenty years flew by in a drugged out haze. During this time, I went to prison, mental hospitals and drug rehabs. I lost jobs, dropped in and out of school, and alienated my family. Even when my little sister died from an accidental drug overdose, I didn’t stop. A few years later, when I was out getting high, my mom died when our house caught fire. I was devastated by the guilt. The two people that loved me the most were gone. I had only the clothes on my back and nothing left to lose. It never occurred to me to turn to God with my burdens and my pain. I just kept using to escape the hell that had become my life. The drugs had damaged my brain so badly that I began to hear voices in my head and I was on the verge of suicide. I wanted to die, but lacked the courage to kill myself. I actually prayed to God for death. I knew something had to change.
In October 2014, at the age of 36, I decided to come to Eternal Awakenings to get help. The staff was caring and gentle and the accommodations were beautiful. A few days after I checked in, I woke and felt renewed. The desire to die was gone. I knew it was the Holy Spirit. God reminded me that I had hope for a future. By participating in the group therapy provided at EA, I was able to work through some of my grief, pain, and regrets. Through the twelve steps and my relationship with God and Jesus Christ, I was able to forgive myself and others, as well as make amends. I have been sober for eleven months now and live a full life, thanks to the help I received at Eternal Awakenings. I settled in Gonzales to be close to my EA family, and I go to church there every Sunday. If you are struggling with addiction, there is help available. I have been to many drug rehabs, but the only place I received true healing was at Eternal Awakenings.”
Heroin Testimonial
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32 Year Old Former Heroin Addict
Susan: I struggled with addiction for twelve years before coming to Eternal Awakenings for treatment. Although I was a Christian, Heroin had become my master. Even when I wanted to stop using, I could not because of the physical withdrawal and the uncontrollable cravings. I descended into hopelessness and despair. I entered treatment in a state of complete brokenness.
The staff at Eternal Awakenings was very tender and supportive. An appointment with an addiction specialist enabled me to receive medication to help me through the withdrawal symptoms. I threw myself wholeheartedly into recovery and began searching for God with all my heart.
The counselors and staff provided me with the direction and encouragement I so desperately needed. Soon I began to see changes, and after ninety days of treatment I had been completely set free from the chains that had bound me for so many years.
I know that none of this would be possible without the grace and mercy of God or the guidance and support of His loving servants at Eternal Awakenings.
Marijuana Testimonial
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21 Year Old Former Marijuana Addict From Michigan
Rodrigo L: Before coming to Eternal Awakenings, I never thought I could completely get away from marijuana.
I always thought I could quit for a while because of the problems it had created and then maybe do it in a couple years. I could never find any answers as to why it was wrong.
I am convinced that God used Eternal Awakenings to open my eyes and realize what I was doing was wrong.
Through this process, not only did I learn how to overcome my addiction, but I also established a real relationship with God. My life has completely changed forever.
I am excited and know that I have purpose in God’s will.
Prescription Pill Testimonial
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Former Prescription Pill Addict From Baltimore
After leaving Baltimore, I moved to Texas with 10 years clean. My back pain flared up and I went to the doctor and relapsed on prescription pain meds. My relapse cost me a separation from my wife, my children, my house and my sanity.
I had been in a 12 step fellowship and knew how to get clean. The problem was staying clean. I found Christ while at Eternal Awakenings and it all came together. The pride was taken away and replaced with love for others through Christ Jesus.
Today I have humility and work to help other addicts achieve long term sobriety. I have to have both Christ and 12 step meetings; they work together for an unbeatable solution. I’m back with my family, I’m working and I’ll have 1 year clean on October 10th, 2008.
Thanks be to God. – Victor M.
Alcohol Testimonial
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Paste your general alcohol testimonial here.
Alcohol Testimonial
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27 Year Old Recovering Alcoholic from Georgia
Brittney: Words cannot express the gratitude I have for Eternal Awakenings and what the staff have done for me.
“I arrived at E.A. alone, broken and completely ashamed of myself. My seven year addiction to alcohol left me feeling guilty and isolated with very little hope for my future.”
It resulted in a divorce as well as many other broken relationships with friends and family. After taking a leap of faith, I made the life changing decision to go to treatment.
I had a great deal of negative preconceived notions about treatment, but after arriving at E.A. I immediately felt at home & knew this was exactly where God wanted me to be.
The compassion and love shown from the counselors and staff can’t even be put into words. The Lord has shown me great mercy and I will be forever grateful for a new start.
I know whole-heartedly God has blessed this program and will continue to do so in the future.
Photo Gallery
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Inside Our Home
Take a look inside our historic Gonzales home—comfortable bedrooms, shared spaces, and a peaceful atmosphere designed to support recovery.
Grounds & Exterior
A calm setting matters. Here are a few views from around the property.
More community photos coming soon.
Living Waters Fellowship Chapel Photo Gallery
Revival Fitness Photo Gallery
Living Waters Fellowship
Christian Beliefs
The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged.
Deuteronomy 31:8
Salvation Through Christ
For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Thessalonians 5:9 NIV
We believe God reaches out to the repentant with accepting and pardoning love. We are, through faith,
forgiven our sin and restored to God’s favor. This righting of relationships by God through Christ calls forth
our faith and trust as we experience regeneration; we are made new creatures in Christ.
Through the grace of Jesus Christ, conversion marks a new beginning, yet, it is part of an ongoing
development of Christian Grace. We can expect to receive assurance of our present salvation as the Spirit
“bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”
God’s Word
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.
John 1:1-2 NIV
We share with other Christians the conviction that Scripture is the source and criterion for Christian beliefs.
Through Scripture, the living Christ meets us in the experience of redeeming grace.
We are convinced that the living Christ is manifest in the Scripture, and therefore, he is in our midst and
becomes the basis for our trust in the redemptive power of God.
We believe in the present and final triumph of God’s word in human affairs and gladly accept our commission
to manifest the life of the gospel in the world.
God’s Place In History
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, his power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
Romans 1:20 NIV
We believe human history reveals God’s Spirit in the ongoing act of transforming human life. It is confidence
in the continued unfolding of God’s grace which sustains our faith and strengthens our commitment to carry out
God’s commandments and therefore, be vehicles and expressions of Christ’s love.
God’s Relationship To Man
For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God.
Romans 3:23
We rebel against God; we hide from our Creator. Ignoring God’s commandments, we violate the image of God in
others and ourselves. We accept lies as truth and we exploit neighbor and nature.
We deserve God’s condemnation. Yet, God acts with justice and mercy to redeem creation. God’s grace awakens in
us an earnest longing for deliverance from sin and death and moves us toward repentance and faith.
In life and death we belong to God.
Human Understanding
However, as it is written: No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him, but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
I Corinthians 2:9-10
We accept the limitations of reason and understand that much of our understanding about life’s experience is seen through a dark glass but we trust in the progressive revelation of God’s plan for our own lives and for all of God’s creation.
Although we recognize that God’s revelation and our experiences of God’s grace continually surpass the scope of human language and reason, we also believe that a disciplined theology calls for the careful use of reason. By reason we read and interpret Scripture. By reason we determine whether our Christian witness is clear. By reason, we ask questions of faith and seek to understand God’s action and will.
The Relationship Of Faith And Good Works
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
James 1:22 NIV
We believe good works are the necessary fruits of faith and follow the Salvation experience.
We believe service to the world is ordained by God. Love of God is linked with love of our neighbor; God’s love is reflected to a hurting world through the Christian light and through the specific obedience of the believer to carry out God’s commandment to love our neighbor.
Our faith and obedience to Jesus is the basis for our social conscience. It is God’s love expressed through believers that is the basis for renewal in the life of the community.
The Presence Of Evil
But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.
Psalm 13:5 NIV
Certain dimensions of human experience test and strain our human and limited ability to fully understand. Often, our theology is tested when confronted with stark reality. The Christian will honestly address and confront issues which require serious theological reflection. Difficult questions about the nature of existence must be viewed in the light and presence of God’s immanent love. A new awareness of such experiences can inform our appreciation of the good news of the kingdom of God.
Ultimately, through it all, in the midst of our questioning hearts, we trust in God’s unwavering justice and trust in His eternal love as expressed in God’s persistent and unequivocal call for the return of his own.
God the Father
One God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
— Ephesians 4:6 NIV
- We trust in the one triune God, the Holy One of Israel, preserver of all things.
- We trust in God, whom Jesus called Father.
- In love, God created the world and makes everyone equal in God’s image; male and female of every race and people to live as one community.
- We believe in the one true, Holy and living God, Eternal Spirit, who is Creator, Sovereign and Preserver of all things visible and invisible.
- We believe the one God reveals himself as the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, distinct but inseparable.
Jesus Christ
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
— John 3:16 NIV
Unjustly condemned for blasphemy and sedition, Jesus was crucified, suffered the depths of human pain and gave his life for the sins of the world.
God raised Jesus from the dead, vindicated his sinless life, broke the power of sin and evil, and delivered us from death to life eternal.
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
— John 1:17 NIV
Jesus proclaimed the reign of God: preached good news to the poor; released those held spiritually captive; taught by word and deed; blessed the children;
healed the sick; mended the brokenhearted; ate with outcasts; forgave sinners, and called all to repent and believe the Gospel.
- We believe in Jesus Christ, both God and man.
- He reveals the divine and human natures as perfectly and inseparably united.
- He is the eternal Word made flesh, the only begotten Son of the Father, born of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit.
- He lived, suffered and died on the cross. He was buried, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven to be with the Father.
- He will come again.
- He is both Savior and Mediator who intercedes for us.
The Holy Spirit
And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
— Romans 5:5 NIV
- We believe in the Holy Spirit who is one with the Father and the Son.
- We trust in God the Holy Spirit and believe in the manifestations of the Gifts of the Spirit.
- We believe the Fruit of the Spirit should be evident in our lives.
- The Holy Spirit leads men to find the truth in the gospel and leads them into Christian fellowship.
- He comforts and sustains the believer.
- He provides the power to carry out God’s plan for each life.
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.
There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.
— I Corinthians 12:4-6 NIV
Gifts of the Spirit
- Wisdom
- Knowledge
- Faith
- Healing
- Miraculous powers
- Prophecy
- Distinguishing between spirits
- Speaking in different kinds of tongues
- Interpretation of tongues
Since we live by the Spirit let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying of each other.
— Galatians 5:25-26 NIV
Fruit of the Spirit
- Love
- Joy
- Peace
- Patience
- Kindness
- Goodness
- Faithfulness
- Gentleness
- Self-Control
Statement of Christian Faith
Eternal Awakenings believes that the Christian message is an age old message that brings hope, help and healing for a new day.
A few words from Jim Welch
I have over 43 years of experience in the field of Drug Addiction Treatment in the State of Texas.*
As Christians, we hold the firm belief that there is a BETTER way for our lives to impact those suffering from drug addiction.
Though we come from different traditions and have had different experiences, we firmly agree that God can and does provide healing and wholeness to those
experiencing the destructive power of drug addiction.
We share our firm Christian beliefs in
God the Father,
the redemptive power of
Jesus Christ,
and the power of the
Holy Spirit.
Eternal Awakening’s counselors are competent, caring, Christians. We lead those suffering from alcohol and drug addiction down their path to recovery with
Christian principles as reflected in the dynamic message of the Gospel and in the Christian Twelve Steps.
The Christian message tells of transformation
Transformation from hopelessness to hope, from chaos to order, from confusion to clarity, from despair to joy!
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*Please note that Eternal Awakenings Christian Drug Addiction Treatment Program is exclusively religious in nature and is not subject to licensure or regulation by the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse.
Resources
Quick jump list:
Schedule |
Alcoholism |
Heroin |
Cocaine |
Marijuana |
Meth |
Intervention |
Helpful Links
Christian Drug Rehab Program Schedule
Placeholder: Add your program schedule (daily/weekly). Keep it simple and readable.
Alcoholism
Alcohol misuse can impact health, relationships, judgment, and daily functioning. If you’re concerned
about your drinking (or someone else’s), getting help sooner is usually easier than “waiting until it’s worse.”
Please check out the
Christian Alcohol Rehab
page for more information on treatment options or call us now.
Read Brittney’s Alcohol Recovery Testimonial
Heroin Addiction
Heroin is a highly addictive drug that is processed from naturally occurring opium. It is most commonly used intravenously although it may also be smoked or snorted.
A total of 1.4% of all Americans have reported using heroin in their lifetime. Although this number may be small in comparison to other drugs, heroin use is on the rise in the United States.
When heroin is injected, users report feeling a surge of euphoria (“rush”) accompanied by dry mouth, a warm flushing of the skin, and a heaviness of the extremities. Following this initial euphoria, the user goes “on the nod,” an alternating wakeful and drowsy state. Mental functioning becomes clouded.
Users who do not inject the drug may not experience the initial rush, but other effects are the same. With regular heroin use, tolerance develops. This means the abuser must use more heroin to achieve the same intensity of effect.
Eventually, chemical changes in the brain can lead to addiction. Heroin addiction can be particularly dangerous. Because the purity of the street drug can vary tremendously, a user can never truly know how much actual pure heroin he or she is putting into their body. This variation often leads to overdose and death. Overdose of heroin results from excessive depression of the central nervous system. Often, respiratory function will decrease to the point that a person may not be taking in enough oxygen to survive.
In 1999 heroin usage accounted for 51% accidental deaths from drugs. Aside from the danger of acute overdose, the long-term effects of heroin can be devastating as well. Because many people inject the drug, the risk of contracting diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis C increases greatly. Poor nutrition often accompanies chronic use as well.
Chronic use of heroin leads to physical dependence, a state in which the body has adapted to the presence of the drug. If a dependent user reduces or stops use of the drug abruptly, they may experience severe symptoms of withdrawal.
These symptoms, which can begin as early as a few hours after the last drug administration, include:
- Restlessness
- Muscle and bone pain
- Insomnia
- Diarrhea and vomiting
- Cold flashes with goose bumps (“cold turkey”)
- Kicking movements (“kicking the habit”)
Users also experience severe craving for the drug during withdrawal, precipitating continued abuse and/or relapse. Major withdrawal symptoms peak between 48 and 72 hours after the last dose and typically subside after about a week; however, some individuals may show persistent withdrawal symptoms for months.
Although heroin withdrawal is considered less dangerous than alcohol or barbiturate withdrawal, sudden withdrawal by heavily dependent users who are in poor health is occasionally fatal.
Detox is the first step for anyone who desires to get off heroin. If the drug has been used for a long period of time, we usually recommend a medical detox prior to treatment. Modern heroin detox is usually accomplished by a drug called Buprenorphine (found in Subutex and Suboxone). The use of this drug has made detox much more comfortable than it has been in the past and has even contributed to the success rate of long term sobriety.
Because heroin is such a powerful drug, most users will need some kind of help getting off of it.
Cravings associated with heroin use can be extremely intense. Often times, an addict will need long term treatment in a drug rehab environment to keep from using. There is often a period of physical and emotional discomfort experienced during the first months of sobriety.
Although medication can help, true healing of the body, soul and spirit often occurs over the course of treatment.
Eternal Awakenings offers a Christ centered, biblically based, comprehensive solution to heroin addiction. Our addiction doctors are specially trained to work with heroin addicts and are all Suboxone licensed.
The detox programs that we work with all have extensive experience with heroin withdrawal. Our licensed chemical dependency counselors have worked in the recovery field for over 20 years and have extensive experience with heroin addiction.
All of our staff are believers in Jesus Christ and carry their Christian beliefs into the facility.
Please check out our home page for more information on treatment options or call us now.
Read more about Susan’s recovery from Heroin
Cocaine Addiction
Placeholder: Add cocaine addiction info + treatment options overview + contact CTA.
Marijuana Addiction and Treatment
Marijuana is the most commonly abused drug in the United States. More than 33% of people have reported using it. Although it is not considered one of the hard drugs of abuse, it is addictive and debilitating.
Marijuana is a green, brown or gray mixture of dried, shredded leaves, stems, seeds and flowers of the hemp plant Cannabis sativa. It is most commonly smoked in a pipe or rolled up into a cigarette called a joint. It can also be ingested orally by making tea or baking food (brownies) with it.
The short-term effects of marijuana use include problems with memory and learning; distorted perception (sights, sounds, time, touch); difficulty in thinking and problem solving; loss of coordination; and increased heart rate, anxiety and panic attacks.
Marijuana also affects memory, judgment, and perception. Learning and attention skills are impaired among people who use it heavily.
Although not known for being physically addictive, marijuana can be psychologically addictive. People who abuse marijuana often feel like they are able to cope with life better while under the influence of the drug.
Chronic users often have an inability to experience emotions, a loss of interest in all areas of life, and damage to relationships.
Treatment for marijuana addiction often begins with learning how to cope with life on life’s terms. At Eternal Awakenings, we address the psychological, social and spiritual components of marijuana addiction. Our licensed chemical dependency counselors have worked in the recovery field for over 20 years and have extensive experience with marijuana addiction.
Please check out our home page for more information on treatment options or call us now.
Read Rodrigo’s recovery from Marijuana
Methamphetamine Addiction
Methamphetamine (Crystal Meth, Speed)
Methamphetamine is a very addictive stimulant drug that affects the central nervous system. A pure form of the drug, known as crystal meth, has recently surged in popularity in the United States. Most of the methamphetamine abused in this country comes from foreign or domestic superlabs, although it can also be made in small, illegal laboratories, where its production endangers the people in the labs, neighbors, and the environment. In fact, law enforcement reports that meth lab seizures have increased almost 600% since 1995.
Methamphetamine is a white, odorless, bitter-tasting crystalline powder that easily dissolves in water or alcohol and is taken orally, intranasally (snorting the powder), by needle injection, or by smoking.
Taking even small amounts of methamphetamine can result in increased wakefulness, increased physical activity, decreased appetite, increased respiration, rapid heart rate, irregular heartbeat, increased blood pressure, and hyperthermia.
Long-term methamphetamine abuse has many negative consequences, including extreme weight loss, severe dental problems, anxiety, confusion, insomnia, mood disturbances, and violent behavior. Chronic methamphetamine abusers can also display a number of psychotic features, including paranoia, visual and auditory hallucinations, and delusions (for example, the sensation of insects creeping under the skin).
The euphoria high produced when using methamphetamine usually lasts 6 to 12 hours. It is not uncommon for a meth user to continue to use the drug for many days with little to no sleep at all. The crash experienced when a meth user stops using the drug can be extremely severe.
The effects are often so miserable that users will do just about anything to get more of their drug and not have to experience it. Methamphetamine is an extremely powerful drug that in essence hijacks the reward center of the brain.
Like cocaine, more than 3 out of 4 people that try methamphetamine will need some kind of help getting off of it. Cravings for the drug can be overwhelming and can easily overwhelm a person who has no plan in place. Methamphetamine is perhaps the most damaging drug to the brain. Brain chemistry in a meth addict can take 2 full years to return to a near normal level and in some cases may be permanently altered.
There is also an alarming relationship between methamphetamine use and criminal activity. Legal consequences aside, meth addicts often have severe social, financial, emotional and often physical problems. Methamphetamine addiction is often so severe that it damages every area of the user’s life.
Eternal Awakenings offers a Christ centered, biblically based, comprehensive solution to methamphetamine addiction. Because of the toxic nature of the drug, many users will require some form of medication while their brain repairs itself.
Our addiction doctors are specially trained to work with meth addicts and can address any co-occurring mental health problems that may be present. Our licensed chemical dependency counselors have worked in the recovery field for over 20 years and have extensive experience with methamphetamine addiction.
Please check out our home page for more information on treatment options or call us now.
Read April’s recovery from Methamphetamines
A Guide To Intervention
Give your Family Member, Friend or Associate the Help they Need
Intervention is designed for chemically dependent people who do not want help, or for chemically dependent people who believe that they do not have a problem.
The concept of an intervention comes from Dr. Vern Johnson, an Episcopal priest who was a recovered alcoholic. Through research and experience, Vern Johnson came to believe that it was not necessary for an addicted person to “hit rock bottom” before getting help. Dr. Johnson believed there was a better way than the loss of everything to “hit bottom.” Instead, Dr. Johnson believed a bottom is “created” by the family, friends, associates or employer as they follow a prescribed format to help their chemically dependent person seek help through treatment.
Working together in unison, as a group, to a point at which they can effectively and constructively confront the dependent person, intervention interrupts the progression of the disease of alcoholism before it completely destroys the alcoholic’s life.
This approach, created in the early sixties, continues as a successful and widely used method to this day. Jim Welch, Co-founder and CEO of Eternal Awakenings Christian rehab, has conducted many successful interventions over the last thirty-three years.
A well designed and executed intervention can be extremely effective in getting your family member, friend or associate the help they need, and possibly save the life of the ones you care about. Please seek an Intervention Professional in your area to assist in providing the support and guide needed to execute a proper and well thought out intervention.
Request “A Guide To Intervention” (PDF)
Helpful Links
(Links open in a new tab.)
Addiction and Recovery
Articles focused on addiction, treatment, and the hard but hopeful work of recovery.
Addiction and Recovery
Meth Addiction: What Recovery Looks Like
What recovery from meth addiction can look like, why structure matters, and how faith supports long-term healing.
The Damage Methamphetamine Does
Methamphetamine is one of the most destructive drugs affecting people today. It attacks the brain’s reward system, damages physical health, and creates powerful psychological dependence. Understanding what recovery actually looks like can give families and individuals a clearer path forward.
Meth use can bring intense euphoria followed by a devastating crash. Over time, that cycle damages judgment, relationships, employment, finances, and physical health. Many people arrive at treatment feeling like they have already lost everything.
Why Meth Recovery Requires More Than Willpower
Most people cannot simply decide their way out of meth addiction. Cravings can be overwhelming, and the early stage of recovery can bring exhaustion, depression, anxiety, and a deep inability to feel pleasure without the drug.
That is why structured treatment matters. Recovery needs daily rhythm, counseling, accountability, medical support, and a spiritual foundation that helps rebuild hope when the person cannot yet feel it.
A Christ-Centered Approach to Healing
At Eternal Awakenings, recovery addresses the mind, body, and spirit through Christian principles, twelve-step recovery, group counseling, and medical support from addiction physicians and psychiatrists.
The goal is not only to stop using meth. The goal is to help a person rebuild identity, reconnect with truth, restore relationships where possible, and learn how to live without returning to the drug for relief or escape.
What the First Months Can Look Like
- Medical care from addiction specialists who understand meth withdrawal.
- Medication when appropriate to support brain healing or co-occurring mental health needs.
- Daily structure that replaces the chaos of active addiction.
- Group therapy and spiritual direction rooted in Christian faith.
- A peaceful residential environment that supports healing instead of triggering old patterns.
The first 90 days are often critical. Sleep, appetite, emotions, and clearer thinking may begin to return. Healing continues long after those first months, but structure gives the person a real chance to stabilize.
Moving Forward
Meth recovery is possible, but it is rarely easy and it should not be faced alone. With time, support, faith, and professional care, people can rebuild their lives and rediscover hope.
Call (830) 263-3269 or email eternalawakenings@gmail.com to begin the conversation.
Recovery and Family
For families carrying fear, grief, hope, boundaries, intervention questions, and exhaustion.
Recovery and Family
Christian Family Counseling for Addiction Recovery
How family counseling helps spouses, parents, children, siblings, and loved ones heal together.
When One Person Struggles, the Whole Family Feels It
Addiction does not happen in isolation. Spouses lose sleep. Parents blame themselves. Children grow up in confusion and fear. Siblings pull away out of self-protection. Friends do not know whether to step in or step back.
At Eternal Awakenings, healing has to reach beyond the individual. Christian Family Counseling is built into the fabric of the program because the effects of addiction are far reaching.
What Christian Family Counseling Looks Like
Christian Family Counseling at Eternal Awakenings is rooted in faith in Jesus Christ, compassion, honesty, and the twelve steps of recovery. It starts with the conviction that God can and does restore broken relationships.
Families work through understanding addiction as spiritual, emotional, and physical; identifying enabling behaviors; processing grief, anger, guilt, and fear; rebuilding trust and communication; and finding spiritual footing regardless of where recovery currently stands.
The Role of Intervention When a Loved One Refuses Help
One of the hardest realities families face is that the person they love may not want help. They may deny the problem, minimize the damage, or resist every conversation about treatment.
Eternal Awakenings offers intervention services for these moments. Family members, close friends, and sometimes employers come together in a structured, compassionate way to confront the addicted person and present a clear path to treatment.
Why Faith Makes a Difference for Families
Secular approaches to family counseling can be helpful, but they often leave out the dimension many families in crisis need most: transcendent hope.
Christian Family Counseling brings the Gospel into the room. The message is that transformation is real, forgiveness is available, and no story is too broken to be redeemed.
How Family Support Connects to Long-Term Sobriety
People recovering from addiction do better when they have strong, healthy support systems. But support built on old patterns, unhealed resentment, or codependent habits can work against recovery.
Christian Family Counseling helps families support sobriety without enabling, control without suffocating, and love through boundaries.
FAQ
Do family members need to be Christians to participate? No. The program is grounded in Christian principles, but family members from any background are welcome.
Can Eternal Awakenings help if my loved one refuses treatment? Yes. Eternal Awakenings offers intervention services and can help families take a constructive, loving approach.
Is family counseling included in the cost of treatment? Contact Eternal Awakenings directly at (830) 263-3269 to discuss specifics.
Recovery and Family
How to Help a Family Member Addicted to Heroin
Practical guidance for families facing heroin addiction, boundaries, intervention, and treatment decisions.
Your Involvement Matters
Watching someone you love fight heroin addiction is one of the most painful experiences a family can go through. You may feel helpless, frightened, or unsure whether anything you do will actually matter. Your involvement does matter, and there are constructive steps you can take right now.
Understand What You Are Dealing With
Heroin is a highly addictive drug processed from naturally occurring opium. Regular use changes the brain and creates intense physical dependence. Withdrawal symptoms can begin within hours and include severe muscle and bone pain, restlessness, vomiting, insomnia, and overwhelming cravings.
Physical dependence is not a character flaw. It is a medical reality. Understanding this helps families respond with compassion rather than frustration.
Stop Enabling, Start Supporting
Supporting someone is different from enabling them. Enabling happens when people around an addict absorb the consequences of addiction, reducing the pressure to change.
Common enabling behaviors include giving money that could be used for drugs, making excuses, allowing drug use in your home, repeatedly paying debts or legal fees, and threatening consequences without following through.
Stopping these patterns does not mean abandoning your loved one. It means refusing to make it easier for the addiction to continue.
Have an Honest Conversation
Choose a time when your loved one is sober, calm, and not in crisis. Speak from your own experience rather than accusation. Be specific about the changes you have noticed. Express love and readiness to help them find treatment.
One honest conversation rarely produces immediate results. Keep the door open and let them know the offer stands.
Consider a Formal Intervention
If direct conversations have not worked, a structured intervention may be the next step. Dr. Vern Johnson believed it was not necessary for an addicted person to lose everything before getting help. The people around the addict can work together to create a clear moment of reckoning.
A well-planned intervention gathers the people who matter most, prepares specific statements, and presents a clear path to treatment. It is not an ambush. It is an act of love, organized and purposeful.
Explore Faith-Based Treatment Options
For many families, secular treatment programs have not produced lasting results. A program that addresses only the physical and psychological dimensions of addiction can miss the spiritual wound underneath.
Eternal Awakenings combines Christian principles, twelve-step recovery, group counseling, and access to addiction physicians and psychiatrists. For heroin specifically, the program works with addiction doctors who are Suboxone licensed and trained to manage withdrawal and co-occurring mental health issues.
Take Care of Yourself Too
Families affected by addiction carry a heavy weight. Guilt, anger, grief, exhaustion, and fear can accumulate over months or years. You cannot pour from an empty cup.
Christian Family Counseling is part of the program because healing rarely stops with the individual. Taking care of yourself is necessary for your own wellbeing and for your ability to support your loved one.
What to Do Right Now
Stop enabling continued drug use. Have an honest, compassionate conversation when they are sober. Research treatment options. Consider a professional intervention if conversations have failed. Reach out to a faith-based program that can walk you through the next steps.
Heroin addiction is serious, but people recover from it every day. The path forward begins with someone willing to make the call.
Recovery and Family
Signs Your Loved One Needs Addiction Recovery
Warning signs that addiction has moved beyond what willpower or casual support can fix.
When the Situation Moves Beyond Willpower
Watching someone you love struggle with addiction is one of the hardest things a person can go through. You may have already tried talking to them, pleaded with them to cut back, or watched them promise to change. But there is a point where the situation moves beyond what willpower or outpatient support can fix. Knowing when that line has been crossed can save a life.
Residential addiction treatment, sometimes called inpatient rehab, places a person in a structured, live-in environment where they receive round-the-clock care and support. It removes them from the triggers and chaos of everyday life and surrounds them with people who are committed to their recovery.
They Have Tried to Quit and Could Not
One of the clearest indicators that someone needs residential treatment is a pattern of failed attempts to stop on their own. They may have cut back for a few days or weeks, but the pull of the substance keeps winning. This is not a character flaw. Addiction changes the chemistry of the brain in ways that make self-will alone nearly impossible to overcome.
If your loved one has repeatedly said “this is the last time” and relapsed, or if outpatient programs have not lasted, a more intensive environment is likely what they need.
Their Physical Health Is Deteriorating
Physical decline can include dramatic weight loss, changes in appearance, tremors, sweating, withdrawal symptoms, poor hygiene, frequent illness or injuries, disrupted sleep, and physical pain tied to drug use.
For substances like heroin and prescription opioids, withdrawal can be dangerous without medical supervision. Residential programs that include access to addiction physicians allow residents to be seen by doctors who can address withdrawal symptoms and general medical issues associated with addiction.
Their Mental Health Is in Crisis
Substance use and mental health are deeply connected. Long-term use of drugs like methamphetamine or alcohol can trigger paranoia, hallucinations, severe anxiety, and depression. Suicidal thoughts are not uncommon among people deep in addiction.
If your loved one is expressing hopelessness, talking about not wanting to live, or displaying signs of psychosis, residential treatment is not something to delay.
Their Behavior Is Harming the Family
Addiction spreads through families. Financial strain, domestic conflict, emotional volatility, children being exposed to unsafe situations, broken trust, and isolation from family members are all serious warning signs.
Families often carry enormous weight long before they seek outside help. You do not have to wait for a crisis to reach out.
They Refuse to Acknowledge the Problem
Sometimes the person struggling does not believe they have a problem, or they acknowledge it but insist they can handle it alone. This is where formal intervention can play a critical role.
When family members, friends, or employers come together in a coordinated and compassionate way to confront the person with the reality of the situation, it can become the turning point that finally moves someone toward treatment.
Outpatient Support Has Not Been Enough
Not every person needs residential treatment from the start. But weekly counseling or group meetings may not be enough if the person continues to use or falls apart the moment they return home.
Residential treatment removes the person from the environment where addiction has taken root. A calm, structured setting with compassionate staff, peer community, and a Christ-centered focus can create the conditions where real change becomes possible.
Taking the Next Step
If several of these signs sound familiar, trust what you are seeing. Families often wait longer than they should, hoping things will improve on their own. They rarely do without help.
Eternal Awakenings offers a faith-based residential program in Gonzales, Texas, with Christian counseling, twelve-step recovery, access to addiction physicians and psychiatrists, and Christian Family Counseling for loved ones. Help is as close as your phone: (830) 263-3269.
Recovery and Family
Why Families Become Exhausted by Addiction
A compassionate word for families who have been carrying too much for too long.
Addiction does not only affect the person drinking or using drugs. Over time it quietly spreads through the entire family. Parents lose sleep. Spouses live in uncertainty. Brothers and sisters become frightened, angry, or withdrawn. Families often begin living from crisis to crisis, waiting for the next phone call, next promise, or next disappointment.
Many families eventually reach a point where they feel emotionally empty. They have tried reasoning, pleading, helping, rescuing, praying, setting boundaries, giving second chances, and sometimes giving twenty-second chances. After enough heartbreak, many begin to ask themselves difficult questions:
“Am I helping?”
“Am I making things worse?”
“How much more can I take?”
“Should I give up?”
These are painful questions, but they are not signs of failure. They are often signs of exhaustion.
One of the difficult realities about addiction is that healthy people frequently expect change to happen much faster than addiction allows. Families often think:
“If they love us, they will stop.”
“If they lose enough, they will change.”
“If they see the pain they are causing, they will finally understand.”
Unfortunately, addiction rarely works that way. Most people struggling with alcohol or drugs are not simply choosing pain for themselves and for those they love. Often they are caught in a cycle that has altered judgment, thinking, priorities, and emotional responses.
This does not mean families should accept destructive behavior or abandon healthy boundaries. Boundaries are important. But boundaries are most helpful when they are rooted in love rather than anger, and in wisdom rather than exhaustion.
Families also need permission to acknowledge something that is often difficult to say out loud:
Loving someone with addiction can be heartbreaking.
Many families feel guilty for becoming angry. They feel guilty for becoming tired. They feel guilty for wanting peace in their own lives. Yet these reactions are often normal responses to carrying a heavy burden for a long time.
Over many years in addiction treatment, I have watched families arrive feeling defeated and convinced that nothing will ever change. I have also watched families years later sit beside sons, daughters, husbands, and wives who reclaimed their lives.
Recovery rarely happens quickly. It often comes slowly and imperfectly. There are setbacks, disappointments, and moments of discouragement.
But I have learned something over the years:
Exhaustion does not necessarily mean hope is gone.
Sometimes it simply means a family has been carrying too much for too long.
If your family is struggling and you need guidance, Eternal Awakenings is here to help.
Call 830-263-3269.
Grace in the Shadows
Faith and Hope
Grace is often easiest to see after the dark gets honest.
Recovery is not always bright at first. Sometimes it begins in the shadowed places: grief, regret, fear, shame, and the quiet admission that life cannot continue the same way.
Grace in the Shadows is a place for reflections on faith, recovery, mercy, and the slow return of hope. It is for the person who feels too far gone, and for the family wondering whether light can still reach the room.
At Eternal Awakenings, we believe recovery is not only about stopping destructive behavior. It is also about restoring dignity, renewing the heart, and learning how to live again with truth instead of fear.
01Families often feel exhausted, isolated, and unsure what to do next. You do not have to face this alone.
02We were half in shadow, half in light.
03Recovery begins with hope.
04Recovery Grounded in Faith and Human Dignity
05Where Recovery Meets Grace
06Recovery for the Body, Mind, and Spirit
07Christian Recovery Rooted in Grace, Truth, and Experience
08A Place for Recovery, Healing, and Hope
09Helping Men Recover Purpose, Faith, and Life
10A Compassionate Christian Recovery Community
12Hope for the Exhausted and Broken
Blog / Updates
Stories, reflections, and updates from Eternal Awakenings. Recovery articles are now organized by topic so visitors can find the right guidance faster.
Addiction and Recovery
Meth addiction: what recovery can look like.
Read Topic
Recovery and Family
Family counseling, heroin help, warning signs, and exhaustion.
Read Topic
Christian Treatment
Twelve-step recovery, Christian faith, and what to expect.
Read Topic
Our Doctors
How addiction doctors support long-term sobriety.
Read Topic
Grace in the Shadows
Hope language, reflection phrases, and recovery encouragement.
Open Page
I recently completed a story about a woman in recovery from crack cocaine addiction who came through Eternal Awakenings.
This is one of the scenes from the story:
Read the scene
By morning the storm had passed.
Snow fell softly—slow, deliberate, spent.
Brittany sat in the foyer, poncho pulled tight.
Through the beveled glass, the first light broke apart into —
thin bands of color trembling across the floor—alive for an instant, then gone.
Outside, the sky was gray and wide.
Old oaks stood black and bare, their arms raised in surrender.
The walkway had vanished; every footprint erased.
White lay over everything—pure, merciless, exact.
Her breath fogged the glass and disappeared.
She turned away; the hush pressed against her back.
Silence thickened until it seemed the earth itself had forgotten how to breathe.
She thought of herself as a soldier left behind after the war—
uniform in tatters,
no orders,
no sound but wind.
“I lived dead,” she whispered.
“My plans moved on without me.”
Guilt and memory drifted through her
like ghosts forcing open old doors.
“Please,” she said.
“I don’t want to feel.
I want the numb.”
Outside, snow clung to the lantana and pecans, white as icing.
Beautiful pageantry—yet she felt nothing.
Still, her body stayed in the chair,
unwilling to turn away from the window’s strange mercy.
Beyond the glass, the iron fence kept vigil—
dark, unyielding,
a thin line between the living and the gone.
Snow gathered on its spears until they vanished beneath the weight,
but the iron held.
It covered the oaks,
the hibiscus bowed under frost,
the red-clay hills where her husband and child slept.
Fence and field,
living and asleep—
the snow made no distinction.
It fell until the world emptied of color and pulse,
a white hush spreading over all that once had breath.
It fell like her own ending—
slow, soundless,
a shroud descending on what remained.
Then a sliver of gold slid through the glass.
The foyer light caught it,
breaking it into soft fire.
Brittany rose,
hand brushing the doorframe,
watching the color shift across her skin.
Outside, the wind paused.
The silence, for once, did not frighten her.
She stepped out
and left the foyer light
to tend its quiet elegy
of black,
white,
and grace
Revival Fitness
Revival Fitness supports our whole-person approach to recovery — helping clients build healthy routines
and confidence through movement.
Contact Us
Call anytime:
(830) 263-3269
Email:
eternalawakenings@gmail.com
Support the mission:
Donate
Address: 306 Saint Paul St, Gonzales, Texas
If you’re coming from out of town, these common routes can help you plan your trip. (You can also open the directions in Google Maps.)
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Dallas
From Houston
Eternal Awakenings Christian Drug Rehab – Houston, Texas
Eternal Awakenings Christian drug rehab facility is located in Gonzales, Texas, about 2.5 hours from Houston. Over the years we have helped many people from the Houston metropolitan area with their recovery needs. It is truly a blessing when people come to our Christian drug rehab facility from nearby locations because their loved ones can easily be a part of the healing process.
The third Saturday of every month is family weekend at Eternal Awakenings. Friends and family are encouraged to attend group counseling with their loved one starting at 10:00 AM. The group usually breaks for lunch giving families time alone away from the Christian rehab facility. Family weekend can be tremendously beneficial to the Christian recovery process for all who participate.
Families from the Houston Texas that attend family weekend area are also welcome to attend Christian Recovery Testimony Night on Friday evening and Living Waters Fellowship worship service on Sunday morning. Eternal Awakenings Christian drug rehab believes that by exposing our clients to real world situations with their friends and family, they see what challenges they will face when they return home. Our clients get a chance to use their Christian recovery skills that they have learned in group in real situations. Real world application is critical to any Christian drug rehab program. It is always easier to understand the recovery principles that are taught during group than it is to use them in difficult situations when feelings and emotions are involved. Clients who participate in our Christian rehab family weekend get a chance to process the experience in group on Monday, after their families have left. The experience is usually a blessing for everyone involved.
We encourage families that live in Houston, Texas to come and tour our drug rehab center. Our admissions workers are able to set up appointments for tours and interviews. Touring of our Christian rehab facility prior to admission often helps people feel more comfortable about their choice.
Please visit our home page and look through our web site. If you would like more information about our treatment program, please contact the Eternal Awakenings Christian Drug rehab treatment center.
Directions from Houston, Texas to Eternal Awakenings Christian Drug Rehab
- I-10 W via the ramp to San Antonio — 119 mi
- Take exit 649 for TX-97 W toward Gonzales — 0.2 mi
- Turn left at TX-97 W — 13.8 mi
- Continue onto Waelder Rd. — 1.1 mi
- Turn right at St Lawrence St — 1.1 mi
- Turn left at St Paul St — 0.1 mi
- 306 Saint Paul St. will be on left
From Austin
Eternal Awakenings Christian Drug Rehab – Austin, Texas
Eternal Awakenings Christian drug rehab facility is located in Gonzales, Texas about 1 hour and 15 minutes south of Austin. Over the years we have provided inpatient Christian recovery services to residents of the Austin area. Because of our close proximity to Austin, Eternal Awakenings is able to provide a treatment environment that is close enough for family members visit and be a part of treatment, yet it is far enough away to remove those seeking help from their home town. We encourage family involvement in the Christian recovery process whenever possible, as it is often necessary for the whole family to heal from the devastating effects of addiction.
The third Saturday of every month is Family Weekend at Eternal Awakenings. Families from Austin are encouraged to join their loved ones and participate in group counseling with one of our Christian counselors. This experience can greatly enhance the Christian drug rehab experience and bring about tremendous healing.
Eternal Awakenings Christian drug rehab is a place of renewal, deliverance, and restoration. If you are considering coming to our treatment center from the Austin area, you are welcome to tour our facility prior to admission. Our admissions workers will be happy to assist you in setting up a time for you to see the facility and meet the people.
Please visit our home page and tour our web site. If you would like more information about our recovery program, please contact Eternal Awakenings Christian Rehab.
Directions from Austin, Texas to Eternal Awakenings Christian Drug Rehab
- Begin I-35 S
- Keep left at the fork, follow signs for Texas 71 E/Bastrop and merge onto E Ben White Blvd/TX-71 E — 4.1 mi
- Merge onto Lockhart Hwy/US-183 S via the ramp to Lockhart Continue to follow US-183 S — 38.2 mi
- Turn left at E Pierce St/US-183 S Continue to follow US-183 S — 17.9 mi
- Turn left at St Louis St/TX-146 Spur E — 0.3 mi
- Turn right at St Paul St — 0.1 mi
- 306 Saint Paul St. will be on right
From Dallas
Eternal Awakenings Christian Drug Rehab – Dallas, Texas
Welcome to Eternal Awakenings Christian drug rehab center. We are located in Gonzales, Texas about 4 hours and 30 minutes south of Dallas by car. Alternatively, some people prefer a 30 minute flight into the Austin airport followed by a 1 hour and 15 minute drive to our Christian rehab facility. Our driver is happy to provide transportation to and from the Austin airport when needed.
Eternal Awakenings has provided Christian treatment services to residents of the Dallas metropolitan area for several years. Because of our close proximity to Dallas, families are often able to visit their loved ones in treatment for Family Weekend. We encourage families and friends that are able to take an active role in the healing process of the addicted individual.
Eternal Awakenings Christian drug rehab center is a true faith based facility. We believe in the healing, delivering, and restoring power of Jesus. By applying Christian principles to our recovery program, we empower people to overcome the bondage of alcoholism and addiction. If you or a loved one would like to attend or tour our Christian drug rehab facility, please give us a call. Our admissions workers will be happy to help you with all your Christian recovery needs.
Please take some time and visit our home page and tour our web site. If you would like additional information about our rehab program, please contact Eternal Awakenings Christian rehab treatment center.
Directions from Dallas, Texas to Eternal Awakenings Christian Drug Rehab
- Begin I-35E S — 56.7 mi
- Continue onto I-35 S — 165 mi
- Take exit 205 toward TX-80 E/Farm to Market Rd 12 W/Luling/Wimberley — 0.2 mi
- Merge onto I-35 Frontage Rd S — 0.7 mi
- Turn left at Farm to Market Rd 12/Hopkins St/TX-80 S Continue to follow TX-80 S — 22.7 mi
- Turn right at N Magnolia Ave — 0.2 mi
- Take the 3rd left onto E Pierce St/US-183 S Continue to follow US-183 S — 17.9 mi
- Turn left at St Louis St/TX-146 Spur E — 0.3 mi
- Turn right at St Paul St — 0.1 mi
- 306 Saint Paul St. will be on right
