{"id":1704,"date":"2022-02-28T16:56:04","date_gmt":"2022-02-28T16:56:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/?p=1704"},"modified":"2022-02-28T18:45:40","modified_gmt":"2022-02-28T18:45:40","slug":"chris-combs-about-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/2022\/02\/28\/chris-combs-about-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Chris Combs: About Time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Chris Combs: About Time<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Time.  The ticking of a second hand, passing of minutes and days, and relentless progression of months, years, and decades.  Chris Combs thinks a lot about time these days.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We sat down last week and talked with Chris, a Taney County native and father of two who recently commenced CORE\u2019s one-year recovery program.  In his view, time is a finite, nonrenewable resource.  It\u2019s an irreversible arrow that mustn\u2019t be taken for granted.  For this reason, Chris has made his new mission in life sharing the message of recovery with newcomers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere’s still more that I need to do here at CORE.  I see all these youngsters coming in and out of here, and they all have so much potential.  Maybe I can be a father figure to some of them, I don\u2019t know, but I don’t want to see them still trying to figure it out at my age.  All the wasted time they’ll never get back, being away from family, kids \u2013 you can’t get time back.  I want to help them all<\/em>.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His own odyssey with drugs began more than thirty years ago.  \u201cI was probably 16 the first time I smoked pot.  My senior year I started dabbling in methamphetamine.  One thing led to another<\/em>.\u201d  In the beginning meth seemed to imbue him with endless energy.  He says, \u201cI got things done.  I could work all night and not need sleep.  It was go go go<\/em>.\u201d  This energized state, albeit real, was short-lived.  He soon fell headlong into the nightmarish existence of addiction.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was killing me mentally and physically<\/em>,\u201d he relates, \u201cbeing paranoid and always emotionally stressed out.  I was a real basket case<\/em>.\u201d  Notwithstanding, social isolation is what best exemplifies Chris\u2019 life on meth.  He avoided family and friends, and people generally, while \u201calways looking over my shoulder, or wondering who was going to tell on me, or when they were going to come through my door.  Everywhere I went, whether by myself or with someone, it was the same<\/em>.\u201d  His aversion to people profoundly affected his life \u2013 his relationships, freedom, productivity, and self-respect. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chris found himself trapped in recurrent solitude.  While on methamphetamines, he was paranoid and fearful of people.  Yet, he was sober and receptive to others only while institutionalized or incarcerated.  Either way, he lived isolated and alone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A week before coming to CORE, however, Chris had a life-changing epiphany: he was out of time.  All those years were simply gone, with only the broken hearts of loved ones and his personal regrets to show for it.  He\u2019d been running his entire adult life, from family, friends, the law, and even complete strangers.  Something had to give:  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStaying under the radar, paranoid, the only thing I ever accomplished was hurting my family by not being there for them.  I hated myself.  So, I\u2019d gotten pulled over by the police and caught with an ounce of meth.  At first I took off running, and I\u2019d gotten away from them, too.  Then I just stopped.  It hit me.  I couldn\u2019t run anymore.  That\u2019s all I was doing.  I was tired of that and wasn\u2019t going to do it anymore.  So I walked back and found them and put my hands in the air.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While sitting in jail Chris heard about CORE, \u201cThey told me that if I wanted to change my life for the better, to get ahold of Bracy Sams at CORE, that he\u2019s the one who\u2019d get me into the program<\/em>.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once at CORE, Chris\u2019 initial progress happened in fits and starts because he hadn\u2019t fully conceded to his innermost self that he\u2019s powerless<\/em> over drugs.  He comes from a traditional family where one just makes up his mind and then does it.  In other words, he was running on his own power, which in recovery never works.  So Chris \u201cwould bounce out [of CORE] and go back to the same thing.  I thought I’d be okay, but I\u2019d be back at it the same day I left<\/em>.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today Chris has found real recovery, for which he relies on not himself but God:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGod \u2013 I couldn’t do anything without Him.  He walks with me every day.  When I wake up in the morning, I pray before I leave the house.  When I get home I pray before I lay my head down.  Even working . . . praying there too.  If it wasn’t for God, I don’t know where I’d be right now<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He acknowledges CORE’s help in his recovery too, saying the best thing about it is the people.  \u201cCORE\u2019s done a lot for me,<\/em>\u201d he says, \u201cby making me realize that I’m important to others and there’s no limits to what I can do once I get my head right<\/em>.\u201d  Of the program he says: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf it wasn’t for the 12 Steps I wouldn’t have made it.  People have different ways to look at it, but the way I do it is right straight out of the book.  Me working my steps, doing 10, 11, and 12 every day . . . .  You have to work them or it gets tricky.  You can’t just white knuckle it.  Fake-it-till-you-make-it does not work.  You waste CORE’s time and everybody else’s if you’re not willing to do the steps.<\/em>\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of today Chris is accomplishing what he wants and needs to do.  Rather than turning back the clock, he\u2019s making new memories, memories of lasting significance.  His children are back in his life, as an example.  They now enjoy regular outings together and keep in phone contact.  His mother is happier for him now than she\u2019s ever been, too, telling him \u201cyou got it this time, and I don’t have to worry about you anymore<\/em>.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, Chris\u2019 court cases have been resolved and, for the first time in twenty years, he has a driver\u2019s license.  On top of all this, Chris is putting his natural talents in landscaping to good use at a prestigious golf course.  He\u2019s not only working toward financial security, but he\u2019s also meeting financial obligations toward his children, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are so happy for Chris and wish him well during his time with us \u2013 which we hope and pray will be long and abundant.\u00a0 Happily, his immediate plans for the future are \u201cto stay awhile at CORE and give back.\u00a0 Just help these people achieve some of the blessings I have today<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 Step Twelve is carrying the message and putting program principles into practice in all of our affairs.\u00a0 We can\u2019t think of a better place for Chris to do this than CORE!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chris Combs: About Time Time.  The ticking of a second hand, passing of minutes and days, and relentless progression of months, years, and decades.  Chris Combs thinks a lot about time these days.   We sat down last week and talked with Chris, a Taney County native and father of two who recently commenced CORE\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1704"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1704\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/core-usa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}