Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Keel.
Hi Sarah, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
When I was a child, I was very attached to my mother. She had left my father when I was 3 months old because he was abusive and was in active addiction. We were homeless for several months until my mom was able to get us into affordable housing. She took very good care of me and she eventually re-married to a man who adopted me at age 8.
I did not grow up in a “Christian” home. We had the philosophy that all religions were the same and we attended a Universalist Unitarian “church” on an occasion. I was very rebellious and angry as a child because I did not like sharing my mother with a man. I always felt like he was “taking her away from me.” For various reasons, I began to act out and began drinking at age 12. I was smoking and using pills by age 13; cocaine by 14; started to get arrested, using ecstasy, hallucinogens, running away, and having an abortion at age 15; was in and out-group homes and jail all the way up to 19 years old.
My mother turned to Christ during all of this and was faithfully praying for her rebellious child. I know there were nights that she was afraid for the phone to ring. She was afraid to hear “I am in jail” or “she’s dead”. I had several stints in jail, rehabs, recovery housing, etc. Nothing would ever compel me to sobriety because I do not think it was sobriety I was after. I was wanting relief. I was wanting fun and joy and I was attempting to manufacture it myself. I was resisting responsibility and life.
The last time I was in jail, a couple of old ladies came in to share Christ with the inmates. They told us about the woman with the bleeding disorder in Luke 8 and how she was healed just by touching the hem of Jesus’ garment. They invited all of us to come and touch the hem of a prayer shawl they brought in to signify the garment of Christ and I couldn’t get to it fast enough. I had never wept before God that way in complete desperation and exhaustion of being afraid, always looking behind my back, letting everyone down, the uncertainty of my future, shame, etc.
That sparked something inside of me that had me seeking God more in my alone time in my cell and eventually when I got home. I was reading the Bible, got a sponsor, stopped hanging out with people who partied and used, and just laid low. One night in my room, I had a powerful encounter with Christ as I was praying that forever changed something deep down inside of me. It was like I saw Him and felt His love in waves. I found purpose. I found my identity. I found the truth. I found the Lord. I was finally found. My heart found rest.
That was almost 15 years ago. That was only the beginning. My process of healing is ongoing and will never stop on this side of heaven. There have been some pretty dark things I have had to face and learn bravery, honesty, humility, submission to God, and how to love others. I am still learning those things, but to know there is a purpose in the pain makes life meaningful and keeps me running the race set before me.
I have experienced something deep inside of me that I want for others. I am now married to my love Jonathan of 12 years, I have 3 amazing children: Avery, Zack, and Benjamin. I am the Executive Director of a Christ-Centered treatment facility and have an amazing team. The Lord has restored me and given me purpose.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road is not smooth, per se; but God never changes. There are promises he has given us that help us to anchor ourselves into when the waves come: he forgives me, he is with me, he will help me, he is in control over all things, he is powerful, he is love, and he cares for me.
One of the darkest seasons of my life was after I put down every drug and had to face the demons inside. I had done some damage to my mind with hallucinogens that caused me to struggle with disassociating any time I felt immense stress and struggling with panic, depression, and something called “derealization” and “depersonalization”. I never thought I would learn to not have to live this way and felt so much shame having to deal with these mental struggles. I would hear people say, “it will get better, I have been there”, but I would believe it were only possible for them and not for me. I thought it was going to be a life-long struggle.
However, through prayer, reading the Bible, and taking “every thought captive” I was able to sort through the lies I was believing about myself, God, others, reality, and life. Truly, sometimes our deliverance from mental torments is simply just identifying the lies and inserting Truth, which I found in the Bible. I found a God that would be with me in my struggle against temptation and that he would forgive me when I failed. I realized that perfectionism is mental torture and I was literally doing self-harm by placing that perfect yoke around my neck. I realized I didn’t trust hardly anything or anyone and had to become vulnerable in order to connect with others and with God.
I am still working through these things, but how amazing is it that God can use imperfect people like me for his purposes? How cool is that? I can also say, I am not at all where I was and I am still being changed into who God created me to be as I navigate life with Him. I have a heart for those who believe there is no hope for them because I have been there- even as a Christian. These are lies many struggles with and He is in the business of shedding truth on those lies and setting us free from them.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
In 2019, a group of churches crossing denominational lines got together to create the Knox County Church Network.
This group was created for churches to come together to make an impact on the city. Mayor Glenn Jacobs and Rep. Jason Zachary approached some of these pastors and expressed a need for the churches to help with the addiction crisis we were facing in our city and across the country. “Government cannot fix this” was the message. It will take the community coming together, particularly the Church, to bring hope to people struggling with addiction.
I (Sarah Keel) was working for the State at that time as the Faith-Based Community Coordinator. At the time, I was working with the faith community to bring awareness on how to help people in addiction. Mayor Jacobs introduced me to these pastors and that is when the relationships began to form. I met once a month with several pastors for a year planning and talking through thoughts and concepts of the disease, the theology (a biblical perspective of addiction), the psychology of addiction, and healing of Christ for individuals trapped in drug abuse and addiction.
We visited various addiction ministries and began to create a curriculum that was Christ-centered and clinically informed. We decided that the direction we wanted to go was to open an Intensive Outpatient Treatment Center that was Christ-Centered and clinically informed. That is when Renew Clinic got its name!
All of the churches (about 10 total) came together to bring financial resources together to get Renew Clinic off the ground. We raised enough support to hire staff, remodel, secure a location, and opened in May 2021.
We offer group 3 days per week (3 hours each group) for 12 weeks, along with 1 hour of individual therapy each week. We also set each participant up with a coach and offer family support services. We have also partnered with Safe Families to conduct a women’s bible study (with childcare) every week with some of the families Safe Families works with.
We are licensed and are private pay, but we raise money for scholarship funds for individuals who cannot pay. Since we are a ministry first, we will not turn anyone away. We have seen God move mightily in people’s lives since May of 2021.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Finding a mentor is a matter of making a request to someone you look up to and has what you want relationally and spiritually. You can find a mentor as a sponsor in AA, NA, and Celebrate Recovery, someone in the church you look up to, a family member, etc. I would pray about who to ask because a good mentor can help tremendously and a bad mentor can cause damage.
For me, I have asked people to mentor me who I saw as upstanding in the community, good to their family, known for love and respect, and mature in their faith. It may feel vulnerable asking someone to be your mentor, but most of the time people are honored that you asked them!
At Renew Clinic, we pair our participants up with a coach to walk them through their time with us.
Contact Info:
- Email: SarahKeel@RenewKnoxville.com
- Website: RenewKnoxville.com
- Instagram: @Renew_Clinic_Knoxville
- Facebook: @RenewKnoxville
- Youtube: Renew Clinic Knoxville
