Surrender Interventions - Dirk & Bj

When I first set out on my own as an interventionist, I had lunch with a precious friend of mine, Jana Tufty. Jana went through treatment at Sober Living by the Sea with David as her case manager. She will tell you David saved her life. David will tell you Jana was a pain in the ass (and Jana will agree) but these two had a special bond. I had the privilege of getting to know her too, and I instantly loved her. When I went to work for the Pat Moore Foundation, Jana was coming out of several months of treatment and wanting to get started in the field. I hired her as a case manager. The rest is history. Jana is one of the most well-connected people in the field of treatment that I know, and loved by everyone who knows her.

So when I sat down at lunch with Jana, within an hour, she had given me three pages of phone numbers. People who would help me get connected, offer me referrals, mentor me, educate me...the list was ridiculous. One particular name had stars all around it. That name was Dirk Eldredge. "You HAVE to call Dirk. You're going to love him. He's going to love you! Seriously...call Dirk."

Well, I didn't call Dirk. Dirk's an interventionist, and he's one of those people that when you mention his name, people smile. Everyone loves Dirk. So I'm not sure why making that call was so hard....maybe the idea of asking a stranger to mentor me? I don't know...but I kept putting it off.

One day, I'm at a hospital admitting a client after an intervention, and I get a text from Jana: "Did you call Dirk yet?"

"No but I promise I will as soon as I leave here, and thank you for kicking my ass about it."

I left Dirk a message as I was leaving the hospital that day. He called me back a few hours later, and I knew instantly why Jana had pushed this so hard. He was the sweetest man on the phone. He offered to take me to lunch, and we set it up at one of my favorite places - Cafe La Strada on 2nd St. in Belmont Shores.

I arrive, get a table and wait. And wait. I text him. No response. I call and he is devastated. He forgot our lunch. BUT he had a really good reason. His wife had been in the hospital, and he was with her. My respect for him grew more.

We rescheduled for the next day, same place, same time, and he arrived with a huge bouquet of flowers, met me with a huge hug, and I'm pretty sure our butts were barely in the chairs before both of us knew we were going to be friends for a lifetime.

As of March 9, 2009, Dirk and I are partners. This is a match truly made in Heaven. God has so powerfully revealed to us that He wants us to work together that the phone literally started ringing and our business began to grow within moments of our sealing the deal.

We've met each other's families, pretty much...he's yet to meet Josh, and I still need to meet Chase (his oldest child). Stacy and I, in Dirk's words, are two peas. David and Dirk are crazy about each other. And I have found a friendship that I can hardly describe.

I am so grateful - both to my Papa (God) and to Dirk for this gift. Every day God reveals Himself to us, and anticipating what He has in store is almost enough to take your breath away. What an adventure!!! It's exciting and scary and I'm loving every second of it!
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Before we decided to work together, Dirk downsized his office. He keeps lamenting that --- I love the coziness of it. It's not like we spend a lot of time there. We're always on the road, and that seems to be where the magic happens anyway. (Every time we get in the car together, the phone rings with potential interventions.) We were sitting on the couch working on some stuff the other day, and Dirk looked out the window and said, "It feels like we're sitting in a tree fort."

That's our view from the tree fort.

In a few days, our new website will launch. You can check it out at www.surrender-interventions.com