This was taken from here. I'm going to write more on this later, but I praise God for this message today! How powerful! I'm off to go see the new home of my friends, Whit and Micah (and Ryan, too)! :)
Dear K-LOVE Family,
We wanted to start this update by saying thank you. Thank you for the encouraging e-mails, notes and your prayers for us as a family.
We realize that we have not given you much detail about all that has been happening with us, and that our quick exit from the K-LOVE Morning Show left many confused, but that has not stopped our radio family from relentless prayers and intercession and for that we are eternally grateful.
Sherry, Lexi, and I have been on quite a journey the past few months. All of the hardship that has come our way has been due to an addiction that I have had to prescription drugs for the last several years. Yes, this is completely my fault. Sherry, Lexi, or K-LOVE had nothing to do with the events that occurred.
For seemingly impossible to treat headaches I was prescribed powerful pain medications a few years ago and for some time now I have slowly and gradually walked down a dark and deadly road.
This road led me farther away from my family, my friends, my co-workers and even my faith. It led me further away than I ever realized was possible.
But thanks to my brave wife who was willing to wake me up to the reality of who I had become, I was able to get the help I desperately needed. Real help. The kind of help where people tell you the truth about this illness called addiction and force you to look into the mirror and then give you the tools to recover.
But most importantly, the kind of Spiritual help that has filled me with hope again. Rather than allowing my faith to become the very source of accountability and healing and clearing away the wreckage of my past so that God could reach a compartmentalized part of my Soul, I hid what was really happening from almost everyone. I so busied myself with work, our show on K-LOVE and ministering that I did not allow God to minister to me, nor did I really know how to let God heal me until I went in for treatment at a place where the Spiritual road to recovery was taught. Over the past few months, I have begun a journey that is leading me to complete healing. It’s a process that I’m committed to following through, for me and for my family.
Well ... that was the situation with the old Jon Rivers. The new Jon Rivers is committed to being a rigorously honest man. Happy, joyous and free, who confesses to you that I did not have what it took to find healing myself. But the good news is, I know who does. His name is Jesus. And by His wounds we can be healed. The road to recovery is a long and challenging road, but it is well worth it.
If you are on the dark road of addiction, I plead with you to get help. Real help. 15 percent of us have a genetic marker that predisposes us to all kinds of addictions including Alcoholism, which by God’s Grace I have avoided.
I am so thankful that Sherry took drastic measures to get my attention. Our quick departure from K-LOVE was unfortunate, but was really the only way for Sherry to fully get my attention. K-LOVE has stood by us and we continue to be great friends.
My addiction, while “legal” was nonetheless destructive and in the end deadly. I am so thankful that our radio family and personal friends have continued to stand by our side.
Most of all, I am thankful that although God loved me just the way that I was, He loved me way too much to leave me in that condition.
What God is doing in me personally and in my marriage over the past few months has been nothing short of a miracle. God has brought me into the light. And for that I am grateful.
The rumors of infidelity, or that K-LOVE had quickly let us go and other terrible things are simply not true. My Lovely Bride Sherry has been faithful to me and I to her. Lexi is fine and as happy as ever. And our K-LOVE family has stood by us, prayed for us and helped us continue on this journey of healing.
Only God knows what the future holds but I do know this, that we are healing, growing and are looking forward to seeing what God has for us in the future.
Thank you again for your prayers!
Jon & Sherry Rivers
