WRITTEN BY CHERYL WELLS
Isn’t January a good time to think about being on a journey of healing to thrive? I ended last year with a really sweet time away with Mike at a couple’s therapy retreat in Idaho that was recommended by a family therapist we know well. Kevin shared with us when we asked him what would be good for us as continued recovery that a deep dive as a couple would be helpful. I just want you to know that it’s okay to talk about these things and to ask for help. That actually is a good sign and a good step for us to develop some resources for family health and internal family systems like us, or just mental health for yourself. This seems so pertinent for all of us because I just found out that there is more anxiety and depression in the United States than any other country. In light of the fact that we have more resources than most people in the world, this is so surprising and sad. It is another confirmation for me that I am on track and doing what I know I’m called to do for others.
It’s been over 23 years ago that I bought a building in downtown Le Mars that was a funeral home and opened a center that could be a resource for people to get help for themselves and their families, and I named it The Living Center. TLC is a place that people can come to when they are in need and find the help and the support to help them grow and get well, and our services are free. It all starts with an initial assessment and then a time of getting to know them better so that we can discern what the best way to start would be. Some of those things could be right within our building and our staff, but it very well could be sending them to a partnering agency or clinic. The best way for us to start and to build that relationship is with someone to mentor them and walk with them for a season. Some of that mentoring is with our staff and sometimes it could be with a person in the community that wants to mentor and be a friend. We also have different levels of counsel that we recommend and can help with in and out of our center. Some people need a good counselor that can bring life experience and a biblical perspective and that’s what they are looking for. Others need a good clinical counselor and then there is another level that would include a psychiatrist or psychologist and possibly some meds. We also have worked with and helped many addicts that need a treatment center and a good support group like AA or Celebrate Recovery. Over the last 20 years we have also developed an inner healing Christian ministry called Healing Waters. (you can call or email and ask for an appointment and assessment at 712-546-7544 or www.sidebysideministries.org)
I would say that all of these things have helped people, and they have been on a continuum of healing where they have experienced many of these services. Each of these things can help us to get to the next place so we can keep moving closer to the next step. These steps lead us to a place of what I would call restoration and renewal, that is about actively growing in life and in relationship with God and with others. In order to do that we have to be aware that it is needed and be willing to act on it. I believe that everyone has “hurts, habits, and hang-ups” (Celebrate Recovery) that we can get stuck in. A good dose of humility helps me to be willing to continue to look at my own stuff and get help for it. I have needed all of those same services that I spoke about earlier, and I’m all the better for it. It’s actually why I have invested the last 30 years of my life coming alongside others to see how it might be best to help. Alcoholics Anonymous also talks about going out to serve and help others, and I have continued to use the 12 steps and the different meetings as a resource for myself and others in recovery.
Over the years as the work and ministry has grown in The Living Center, the building has truly become a center – and the scope of what we do has gotten better and bigger. In 2017, I changed the name of the ministry to Side by Side Ministries as we grew up and added more buildings around us, like the Guest House & Habitué Coffeehouse & Bakery, and we continued to build our team. We have several different entities, and we have also started doing more marketplace focused things. Again, the goal is still the same, but we now are doing it on a broader spectrum. With the addition of my husband, Mike, now that we have sold our family business, and we are not retired, but repurposed, we are still working toward health and growth personally and in all aspects of life and community. You may have heard lately of Red Shed Enterprises, which is where we connect in the marketplace and in our community development. To us this is how we can be Mike and Cheryl in whatever we find ourselves doing for the community around us and for the will of God and His glory. The Living Center in downtown Le Mars is just the location, Side by Side Ministries are the different services that we offer to people, and Red Shed Enterprises is how we invest and support in the future of Le Mars, but the work is wherever we go to connect with people. It’s always about people and it’s always about love. We are grateful for the love of God that He has put in our hearts through our relationship with Jesus. We want Him to be the foundation of everything that we do, by His power and grace.
“Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me. Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have. Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”
– Phillippians 1:25-2:4
“Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
– Jeremiah 29:7
