Food, shelter, recovery and… MATRIMONY!

Ask our clients what they took away from their recovery and rehabilitation program and you might well expect them to talk about a relationship with Jesus. Or maybe a life free from addiction. You probably wouldn’t expect them to answer, “a SPOUSE.”

Yet restoring healthy relationships is an important part of LIFE recovery. It can happen between a husband and a wife. Sometimes children are reconciled with parents. Or it may be siblings who have hurt each other over the years and manage to find their way to forgiveness.

And once in a while, a man and a woman who have been through the fires of addiction find a connection, a bond and a love that brings them together. So when Johnnie and Catherine asked to share their joyful day with their family at Raleigh Rescue Mission, our dining room was transformed into a wedding chapel and reception area.

Along with Mission staff and residents, wedding guests filled the dining hall to witness the union. Their minister was the same man who had once recommended that the couple separate. But that was before the dashing groom had turned his life around. After pre-marital counseling the pastor expressed his own hope that they would be an inspiration for others. And when the long-awaited wedding day came, everyone was thrilled for this happy -- and hopeful -- couple.

Introducing Catherine Baldwin

Nine years ago, Catherine Baldwin met her future husband at a meeting of recovering drug addicts. And while the two felt a connection from the start, the relationship was in for some hard times before exchanging vows.

Catherine had been married and divorced more than once. And each time she and her husband used drugs. But she had overcome her addiction and was determined to stay on track even though the man she was with continued to struggle.

Her involvement with Narcotics Anonymous helped keep her on track in spite of Johnnie’s ups and downs. In 2002 they planned to be married, but drugs intervened and put those plans off indefinitely. Then in 2006, with the encouragement from her pastor and support from her church, Catherine decided to step away from the relationship.

It was hard on both of them and she was reluctant to give up on him. But it was hard to deny the urgings of her friends who showed her how she wasn’t helping him by enabling him.

After more than a year passed, word came back to her that Johnnie had beaten his addiction and was working and saving money. Soon after that, she started to see him again.

Introducing Johnnie Yarborough

When they met, Johnnie was in recovery. Catherine described him as a good person with a gentle manner. She says she’s never known a better man, at least not when he’s off “the stuff.”

But that “stuff” still had a hold on Johnnie. He would go through recovery and be clean for year, or six months. Then he’d go back out. The couple stayed together through several relapses even though he drained her emotionally and took money from her to pay for drugs.

After they separated, Johnnie went through a series of drug treatment programs, homeless shelters and psychiatric hospitals. Finally, at Raleigh Rescue Mission, Johnnie found the help he needed.

There was no bitterness over her leaving because he understood why she had to go. Yet he also knew she never gave up on him. She showed him a genuine kind of love that he’d never had before.

When Johnnie turned a corner and began to build a future, Catherine came back into his life. They dated for a year before he dropped to a knee and asked her to be his wife.

Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Yarborough

The presiding minister once told the bride to leave the man she was marrying. A close friend urged her to leave Johnnie because she thought he would stay on drugs as long as Catherine kept supporting him. But on this day, they all celebrated together.

No one who has watched the couple over the last few months believes Johnnie will go back to his life of drugs. Catherine has no worries. The friend who urged her to move on called this a union of soul mates. And even the pastor who watched with a healthy dose of skepticism pronounced them man and wife with no lingering reservations.

Johnnie says he always knew they’d be together, but tears came to his eyes as he gave his vows.

Catherine has been married more than once before. This time, she says, it’s for the right reasons.