Redeemed Tears: Finding Hope and Healing in the Midst of Addiction

Redeemed Tears: Finding Hope and Healing in the Midst of Addiction

There are moments in life when words fall short, or there simply aren’t any at all.

For those impacted by addiction — whether from loving someone recovering from addiction, loving someone in active addiction, or losing someone to addiction — those moments are all too familiar and happen all too often.

The constant back-and-forth between hope and heartbreak leaves many feeling like they are alone, like it’s their fault, and like there is no hope.

But none of that is true.

Rooted in Psalms 56:8, Redeemed Retreat gave members of Finding Hope and Hope After Loss support groups the chance to pause and remember that God is redeeming the pain, the waiting, the grief, the questions — all of it.

A Weekend Like No Other

“True healing begins when we allow ourselves to be vulnerable and transparent, both with God and with others,” shared Director of Family Support Groups Amy LaRue. “God does not ask us to be strong at the expense of being honest. He is not impressed by how well we hide our pain. But He is moved by our willingness to bring it to Him.”

That was the message driving Finding Hope and Hope After Loss’s first-ever Redeemed Retreat, and what will guide the many yet to come in 2026.

Loved ones arrived for the weekend at POSTOAK Lodge & Retreat in Tulsa, Oklahoma, guarded and weary. But after hearing from the first speaker, Rachel Dick, and worshiping together, the walls started to slowly come down. By the time attendees broke into small groups for more intimate conversations, many of those walls had disappeared entirely.

As people opened up about their experiences, they began to notice just how much they had in common. From loved ones having the same medical conditions — like diabetes — to losing a loved one before a major life event, there was no shortage of connections to be made.

“On Friday night, you could feel the weight of the burdens everyone was carrying. By Sunday, that weight was lifted off so many people’s shoulders. It was incredible to watch them find hope and healing, surrounded by others who truly understood what they were going through,” explained Amy.

That sense of community only grew stronger throughout the weekend. Strangers quickly became friends, and while there were many much-needed tears, there was just as much laughter as people shared stories about their loved ones. Those stories reminded everyone that their loved ones aren’t defined by their struggles. They are sons and daughters and siblings and parents and friends.

From powerful keynote sessions to vulnerable breakout conversations, every part of the retreat was designed to create space for people to process what they’d been carrying, whether that was learning more about addiction, working through grief, or simply being reminded that God sees them in it all.

Without the usual distractions, many realized just how much they’d been carrying, and how little space they’d given themselves to actually process it.

“At the end of a retreat, a woman came up to me and shared that she had only attended to support her mother. But because of the retreat, she realized that Finding Hope was something she needed for herself, too,” shared Finding Hope Coordinator Darcie Stephens.

No matter why someone came, everyone left knowing they aren’t alone, their loved one’s addiction or passing isn’t their fault, and there is hope.