Invitation to Recovery

By Dave Spruell

Sometimes, life hurts.

And when it does, we so often attempt to run, hide, or disengage. We don’t want to face others when we’re in our low points and feeling most vulnerable. So we put on our masks, pretending to have it all together. Instead of acknowledging our struggles and receiving help, we isolate, which makes healing even more difficult.

God never intended for us to struggle alone. He desires for us to connect as the body of Christ, confessing our struggles to each other and carrying one another’s burdens when life gets tough. That’s why our mission statement at Southeast is so powerful and on point: Connecting people to Jesus and one another. Because, when life hurts, we need that connection with Jesus and other people in order to heal in a healthy way. Receiving acceptance, love, and hope through the body of Christ makes real change possible.

At Southeast’s Care Ministry, we know we’re not the only place where hope and healing happen, but we work hard to create safe places and connect the right people together, building trust and fostering an environment that allows for openness and honesty. A place that cultivates transformation. A place that is authentic and real.

The door is open. Consider this your invitation.

One Step at a Time

The recovery community is a place few people honestly want to enter. Not many are willing to take that bold risk. Some walk in because they were compelled by life circumstances or someone who forced their hand. Others have chosen to walk in because of their deep longing for healing and hope. Whatever brings you here, know that this is a community where healing and hope are extended every time the door is opened.

The first step into a recovery or support group is usually the hardest one to take, but something beautiful happens when you make that decision.

This is my favorite thing about our Care Ministry: we connect people to the healing community they desperately long for and need. For those of us who have our own story of recovery, we can affirm the anxiety of taking that first step, but we can also testify to the power of that moment when we entered this community for the first time. God meets us in a remarkable way when we come with the posture of simply saying, “I need help.” It’s what makes recovery groups so helpful.

Lay Your Burdens Down

You may feel a lot of despair the first time you step into Encounter Worship or one of our Recovery Groups. I see it on the faces of many who come for the first time. It’s like a heavy, invisible blanket people carry on their way in. Merriam-Webster defines despair as “to no longer have any hope or belief that a situation will improve or change.” Have you been there before? I know I have. You just feel like things won’t ever get better. You can’t see ahead of you—or if you can see up ahead, it doesn’t look good.

Likewise, some people enter recovery carrying a tremendous amount of shame. Maybe they’ve messed up and feel like there’s no hope and no way to gain anything back. They feel horrible about their situation and they feel even worse about themselves. Have you ever been there before? I know I have. Shame is like a straitjacket. You feel like you’ve lost control of your life and you’re completely stuck with no way out.

In the end, there’s only one antidote to shame, and that’s vulnerability. It can be the hardest thing in the world to trust again when someone has hurt us deeply. So often, we put up walls and defenses to keep people out, but in doing so we keep ourselves from those who could help us and the healing God wants to bring in our lives through them. Steve Arterburn, founder of New Life Ministries, says, “You must take a step away from your comfortable surroundings and allow others to minister to you and nurture you—no matter how difficult it is.”

No More Masks

Romans 12:9-13 says, “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.”

I love these verses because they speak into who we strive to be in our recovery communities. The word hypocrisy means “hiding behind a mask.” God wants us to be free from hypocrisy, and ultimately we do too, so in our recovery community we don’t fake it or pretend.

We work hard to create an environment where we keep it real, a community of grace where we are all fellow strugglers. We recognize sin as sin, but we keep it real. This is what I know: God uses authentic community to transform lives. He uses relationships with others to bring healing to our hearts. Though He could have chosen to do it entirely on His own, He delights to transform us by bringing us together with others who can honestly say, “Yeah, me too.”

Help Is Here

So, what does it look like to take that first step toward recovery?

We offer many kinds of Support and Recovery Groups and counseling options at Southeast's Care Ministry. To discover our listing of options, we invite you to CLICK HERE to visit our webpage, or call 502.253.8400 to speak with someone who would love to help you take that first step and get connected.

Saying “I need help” is a brave step to take, but God meets us there. He wants to replace despair and shame with healing and hope. So, please, take that bold step and watch Him work. The door is open.